Be My Forever
by swimgirl.garces
Summary: When Agent Seeley Booth gets an urgent call from his friend Lance Sweets about housing a displaced forensic anthropologist and her daughter from NY, he can hardly say no. He doesn't realize what, or who, got them in their current situation.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all, so this is just chapter 1, if people like it I'll keep going.**

* * *

Booth took a swig of his beer as he turned off the game he was watching.

_I can't watch the flyers be crushed like this,_ he thought.

Rising, he checked he phone again with a sense of anxious urgency.

"They were supposed to be here almost an hour ago- a phone call would have been nice" He said to himself. As if on queue, his doorbell rang.

Booth crossed the living room in three large steps, taking a moment to collect himself before swinging the door open. As he expected, his friend and colleague Lance Sweets stood on the other side, suitcase in hand. Although he anticipated her arrival, Booth almost didn't see the woman standing behind him. Giving Booth a perfunctory nod then stepping out of the way to give Booth a better view of the woman, Dr. Sweets introduced her as Dr. Temperance Brennan.

Booth silently took in her appearance, from her piercing blue eyes to the small child at her hand, a spitting image of her mother.

His fatherly instincts overpowering his manners, Booth hardly acknowledged the scientist and knelt down to meet the kid at eye level.

"Hey, kid," Booth said smoothly, "My name's Booth, what's yours?"

The little girl, about three years old according to Sweets, looked from Booth to her mother, trying to gage whether or not it was okay to talk to this man. After a quick nod from her mother, the girl returned her gaze to Booth, "Charlie," she said.

"Well, Charlie," Booth smiled, "would you like to come inside? I have a boy a couple years older than you, and I think he left some fruit snacks in the pantry," Booth offered, knowing no child could resist candy.

As he expected, Charlie smiled back and began to babble about her experiences with fruit snacks at daycare.

Although hardly comprehensible, Booth nodded as though he understood exactly what she was saying, which put a satisfied grin on Charlie's face. Immediately letting go of her mother, she followed Booth into his kitchen.

For the first time in days, Brennan couldn't help but smile. She turned to Sweets, stifling a chuckle, "And to think I tell her everyday to never take candy from a stranger."

Sweets smiled back, "Booth has that effect on all the ladies, little ones and big ones."

Brennan shook her head, smiling, and walked in the direction her daughter had just gone, attempting to put back on her poker face.

* * *

Entering the kitchen, Brennan found Charlie and booth sitting at the counter, snacking and drinking chocolate milk.

No wonder Charlie likes him already, she thought, he's a child himself.

Hearing her boots clicking against the tile, Booth made sure Charlie was settled into her seat, and cautiously approached. To his dismay, Sweets was nowhere to be found.

_Giving us privacy, great_, he thought sarcastically.

Fumbling for words, Booth made eye contact with the beautiful stranger, "So.." he started, " The guest bedroom is right down the hall, and there's a bathroom attached to it. I pulled out Parker's old playpen incase you want Charlie in there, but the bed is plenty big for both of you."

Not sure what else to say, Booth stopped talking and tried to decipher what Brennan was thinking. Studying her cold eyes, he was a little offended as he was unable to detect any sort of gratitude. Confirming his suspicions, Brennan hardly said thank you as she grabbed Charlie in one arm, and lugged the suitcase in the other down the hall as directed.

Slightly dumfounded, Booth didn't move as he tried to figure out what just happened. In the middle of his thoughts, Sweets strolled into the kitchen.

"What is her problem?" Booth asked his friend, " You could have warned me she's kind of an ass."

"Booth," Sweets scolded, "You don't understand the emotional trauma that woman has experienced. And the child, according to the most recent psychological journals-"

Booth cut him off. "I don't need the psychological mumbo jumbo, Sweets. Can you tell me what happened to her? I mean I've been watching the news but you know…"

"I can't tell you much, the point of housing her here was for the security provided by you being a total stranger, but I'll try to explain."

Just then Booth heard the thumping of a child wandering down the hall. Sure enough Charlie's head peeped around the corner, "Mommy say I clean up milk and fruit snacks," the child told Booth.

He smiled down at her, "Hey, no, cutie, I got it. You can go back to your mommy."

She looked at the stranger for a moment before spinning around and running back towards the room.

"Cute kid," Booth noted, "seems pretty smart too."

"Oh yes, agent Booth, given how intelligent her mother is, I bet Charlie is a pretty smart kid."

"Anyway," Booth said, changing the subject, "What can you tell me about her? I deserve to know at least what made 'er wind up at my doorstep, you know?"

"I absolutely understand, Booth-" just then Sweets' phone rang. "It's Daisy, I'd better get this." Seeing the discontent in Booth's eyes, he added, "I'll talk to Stark and some other guys, see what I can get you on her case."

Satisfied, Booth gave his friend a pat on the back and waved goodbye as Sweets left his house, already deep into a conversation with his girlfriend.

Just hours later, Booth received an email containing copies of case file labeled "Christopher Pelant".

Well, he thought, Maybe I'll get to see what made her the way she is.

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**reviews and stuff are nice thank**

**-T**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I see there's some confusion about the situation- this is an alternate universe in which the whole team still works at the Jeffersonian, except for Brennan who was never part of the team and works in NY. **

**With that said, chapter 2.**

**Disclaimer:**I don't own any of the characters or Bones, I'm just borrowing them for a story.

* * *

_"Temperance Brennan awoke at approximately 4:47 AM the morning of December 24th to the sound of footsteps in the hallway outside her bedroom. Victim pulled out a registered gun(.45 caliber) from the table beside her bed and confronted the intruder. The intruder, Christopher Pelant, immediately lunged for the weapon and successfully disarmed her. He then sedated the victim and brought her to her dining room, where he bound her to a chair._

_Upon her awakening, the intruder told victim of his plans to "keep her for himself" and spoke of the love and devotion they shared when Temperance Brennan successfully untied her hands, gained control of the firearm, and shot Christopher Pelant once in the leg to incapacitate him. Police were called by Temperance Brennan at 6:48 AM. Child of Temperance Brennan, Charlotte Brennan, 2.5 years, was found also sedated in the car of Christopher Pelant, parked approximately 200 yards from the scene. It is believed he kidnapped the child while Temperance Brennan was still unconscious._

_Upon police investigation of the scene, multiple cameras, believed to be monitored by Christopher Pelant, were found throughout the home._

_After 4 days in holding, Christopher Pelant escaped from the hospital in which he was being held._

_Temperance Brennan has since received multiple threats from Christopher Pelant, displaying his anger in her betraying him and plotting his revenge."_

The case summary fell from Booth's hands and fluttered to the ground beneath him.

"Holy shit," he mumbled, running his hands through his hair. He stood up and quietly moved towards the guest room.

_Now I see what Sweets was saying about 'psychological trauma',_ he thought.

He continued towards the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Brennan with her walls down. Peering through the slightly ajar door, Booth took in the scene. Brennan sat, cross-legged, on the queen-sized bed with Charlie's head in her lap. Humming to her sleeping daughter, she repeatedly ran her fingers through the toddler's soft blonde curls, taking time to wrap each strand about her pinky. Although there were no tears falling, Brennan's eyes exposed deep pain.

_This poor woman_, Booth thought, _and I told Sweets she was an ass- I'm the ass._

As if she could hear him, Brennan suddenly looked up as her gaze hardened.

Before she could say anything, Booth spit out the first thing that came to mind, "Are you hungry?" He asked a little too fast.

Unsure how she wanted to respond, Brennan hesitated.

Charlie, awoken by her mother's sudden change in demeanor, answered for her, "Hungry," Charlie said curtly, "I hungry."

"Well," Booth said with a quick nervous laugh, "That settles it. I'll make you some pancakes, Charlie, and I make a mean omelet, Brennan, if you want one…"

Her face softening, Brennan lifted Charlie from her lap and stood up, "Thank you, Booth, I haven't eaten since yesterday and I find I am quite hungry." As if to confirm her statement, her stomach growled loudly. All three couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

He wasn't lying about the omelet, Brennan thought as she devoured her second. Beside her, Charlie sat with pancake smushed in her hair and all over the counter. Brennan, feeling bad about making a mess in a stranger's kitchen, attempted to get the pancake off the counter, only worsening the damage. Booth stood in the opposite corner, smiling at her futile attempt to clean his kitchen with her bare hands. Noticing her growing anxiety, Booth approached her, "Hey, , it's okay, really. I have a kid not much older than Charlie so I know how messy the little monsters are," he reassured. Releasing the tension in her shoulders, Brennan sat back down in her chair to finish her breakfast.

Booth walked over to the sink to get a sponge for the mess, but when he turned around the girls were gone, plates and cups neatly stacked. Confused, he went back to the guest room only to find them in the bathroom already, Brennan getting ready to give Charlie a bath.

When she saw him, she immediately stood and apologized for leaving a mess in his kitchen, and explained that a dirty child would only make it worse. Apologizing again, she moved to go around him, saying she would clean the plates and then bathe Charlie.

Booth took a step in the direction of the door to block her from leaving, locking his eyes with hers, "Hey, no, it's alright, I just didn't know where you disappeared to so quickly."

Charlie, listening to the conversation, piped in, " Mommy say no bother Booth, stay out of Booth way." Pleased with herself for remembering her mother's explicit instructions, the toddler smiled up at the two adults.

For reasons he couldn't explain, Booth's heart sunk at the revelation of Brennan's instructions. Looking over at her, Booth saw the woman cringe, clearly not having expected her baby to blabber to Booth.

"I'm so sorry, Booth. I just didn't want to bother you, I know you didn't sign up for this, I mean my daughter and I were practically forced upon you-" Booth stopped her, "You are by no means bothering me, I mean you've been here for almost a whole 24 hours and I've barely seen you. I don't want you to worry about being in my way, and if I didn't want you here, I wouldn't have agreed to let you stay with me, okay?"

Even though she barely knew the man, she could tell he was sincere with his promise. Looking down at her feet, she gave a quick nod before turning around to continue giving Charlie a bath.

Satisfied with the scene, Booth left the bathroom and went back to the kitchen to clean up after his nearly invisible houseguests.

* * *

**REVIEWS please!**

**-T**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bones or any of the characters, I'm just borrowing.

* * *

Booth tried to focus on the fierce thud of his fists hitting the punching bag, but his thoughts kept wandering back to the doctor and her little girl. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, he bent down to take a sip of his water. Deciding that he wasn't going to be able to get a good work out in, he headed towards the gym showers, hoping some suds and hot water would do the trick.

Clean and dry, Booth decided to take the stairs back up to his 12th story apartment, hoping the activity would help him clear and refocus his mind.

_She's hot_, he instinctively thought as the thumping of his sneakers on the concrete steps filled the silence, _hotter than Rebecca, easy. And those eyes_…

He stopped himself, almost disgusted.

_With all this woman has been through, I wouldn't bet she's looking for a relationship right now_, he argued to himself, _and it would be way inappropriate_, he added.

Arriving at his door, he took another minute to compose himself, slapping his cheeks and taking a few calming breaths. Turning the key, he nudged the door lightly as to not frighten the woman or child. Walking into his living room, he expected to see them, assuming they wouldn't stay in their room all day. When they weren't there, he immediately checked his watch, 1:37 PM.

_I left at about noon_, he recalled, _and they were locked away in their room._

Strolling into the kitchen, he noticed two plates on the drying rack, and a pizza box sticking out of the garbage can.

_So they've eaten_, he thought, unable to explain why his heart sunk a bit at the revelation.

Hoping to find them, he wandered towards the guest room, pausing briefly before knocking. Eliciting no response, he opened the door just enough to see inside. On the other side of the door was an empty room.

Starting to worry, Booth pulled out his phone to call Sweets when he heard the front door swing open, followed by an incredible song of laughter.

Carefully closing the door to the guest room, he started back down the hallway only to meet a smiling Brennan and Charlie face to face.

Not expecting his presence, Brennan stopped in her tracks and let out a small gasp, which Charlie mimicked.

"Sorry to scare you, again," Booth apologized with a chuckle, "I didn't hear you when I got home and I went to check the guest room, and got worried when you weren't there."

Charlie gave him a wide-eyed stare, for once having nothing to say.

Brennan, appearing agitated, responded coldly, "Well, Booth, while we are very grateful to have a house to stay in, it is hardly anything more than that and I wouldn't expect you to be concerned with our whereabouts. Also, I understood the purpose of providing me a key was to imply your expectance of us to stay out of your space as frequently as possible."

Swooping down to grab Charlie, she put the toddler on her hip and started towards her room.

Not sure what he said to upset her and unsure how to respond, Booth stood silent for a moment.

"Well, Dr. Brennan," he started, "sorry that I was just a little bit worried since I had abso-freakin'-lutely no idea where my guests were," he finished angrily, before sidestepping the two and walking away.

* * *

_What the hell is her problem?_ Booth thought, _and it felt like we were making some progress, but clearly not._

Booth stood in his kitchen, chopping vegetables to cook with his dinner and still trying to figure out what he could have possibly done to elicit such a response from Brennan. He knew he shouldn't take anything she said or did personally, but he couldn't help but feel offended by her fairly rude response to his compassion.

Unable to suppress his urge to drink until his dinner was ready, Booth jogged over to the fridge and pulled out a beer, opening it on the bottom of his kitchen counter.

Returning to his vegetables, he was interrupted by the sound of boots clicking on the wood floor. Turning around, he was suddenly staring into a pair of icy blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Booth, for the way I acted earlier. I find I am made rather uncomfortable by compassion, as it is something I've hardly experienced, and-"

"Hey, no, it's okay, really. I get it, and I should have known better anyway- you were right about the housing thing, I should give you more space and I'm sorry."

"Are you upset?" Brennan asked him, sounding shockingly empathetic.

"No, I'm not."

After a moment of silence, Booth turned around to continue cooking when Brennan spoke again.

"What are you making?"

Stunned by her sudden interest in his activities, Booth faltered before answering, "Nothing much, just some pasta. I'm not exactly a five star chef," he confessed.

"Would you like some assistance?"

Booth's mouth fell open, but he was unable to respond verbally. Even Brennan herself was shocked at what she had just asked. Why was she suddenly interested in getting to know him? She herself had said that he was nothing more than a place to stay.

"Yeah, sure," Booth said, a cheesy grin filling his face, "How are you with a knife?"

* * *

_"With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you…"_

Booth slowly blinked his eyes open and rolled over with a grunt, reading 5:56 AM from the clock.

_"Won't you say you love me too!"_

Rising and pulling on the dirty jeans by the foot of his bed, he walked towards the source of the sound, stopping briefly in front of the mirror to comb through his hair with his fingers.

Peering over the back of the couch, Booth laid eyes on a mop of messy blonde hair.

"Charlie?" He asked, still cloudy with sleep.

He suddenly was looking at a pair of startlingly blue eyes, an exact copy of her mother's.

"Ow, Char!"

Taking a step closer, Booth took a better look at the couch and realized that Charlie wasn't actually sitting on the cushions, but rather on her mother, sprawled out with her head at one end and feet at the other.

Brennan wiggled herself upright and grabbed Charlie so the toddler was sitting on her lap. When Booth finally got a good look at her, he immediately noticed the terror in her eyes. Before he could say anything, she began to ramble, "Oh I am so sorry, Booth, but Charlie, being a child, is hardly able to sleep past 5 AM and she was beginning to become incredibly bored and restless, and I put the TV on as low as I could as to not awaken you, but we seemed to have failed-"

"No, Brennan, I'm sorry for starling you. I was awake, anyway," he lied, "Don't worry about it. You keep forgetting that I have a kid, too, name's Parker- he's almost four." With that, Booth dug around in the back pocket of his jeans for his wallet and pulled out of it a crinkled picture of his boy. Handing it to Brennan, he couldn't help but grin with a fatherly pride as he watched the woman's expression soften and melt to something resembling joy as she examined the picture.

"He is a beautiful child, Booth," she said, looking up at him. Squinting back and forth between Booth and the image, she added, "And his mandible and maxilla are in fact quite similar to yours! And his zygomatics are quite high- just like yours." Pleased with her analysis, Brennan handed the photo back to Booth, taking care to smooth out the folded corner.

"Yeah… I don't really know what you just said but thanks, I think".

Booth shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure how to ease the awkward silence that was developing. He glanced at his watch, 6:03 AM. Knowing that he had to leave for work by 8, he realized that the idea of him getting any more sleep was a lost cause.

"So, Charlie," he addressed the child, "can I watch with you?"

It was only after the question left his mouth that Booth realized what he had asked.

_I hardly know this kid_, he thought, _why would she want to watch TV with me?_

The little girl hopped off her mother's lap and walked around the couch to meet Booth. Reaching up with both of her little hands, she tried to grab one of his but was only able to grip a couple of his fingers. She pulled him back around to the front of the couch and pointed to the cushion, instructing him to sit. Obeying, Booth fell into the seat, scooting over to make room for Charlie. Not able to climb up by herself, Booth picked her up and situated her between him and Brennan, who was still sitting at the other end of the couch watching the two of them, her heart flipping in unfamiliar ways.

"So tell me, kid, what's up with this purple dino?"

Charlie looked at her mother, unsure whether or not it was okay to talk to Booth. Brennan had said to stay out of his hair, but even a child could tell that her plan was already a failure. With a nod of approval, the little girl began explaining the premise of Barney to the best of her three-year-old abilities.

Booth, shocked at how quickly the kid had taken a liking to him, couldn't do anything but smile and nod.

* * *

**review review review**

**and while you're at it, any suggestions or requests? I don't really know where I'm going with this haha**

**-T**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bones or the characters, just borrowing.

* * *

"So, Booth," Sweets asked his friend, "how's it going with Dr. Brennan and Charlie?"

The two men sat at the bar in the Founding Fathers' after closing a particularly rough case.

"It's not."

Sweets furrowed his eyebrows, unsure how to interpret Booth's comment.

"She hardly talks to me. It's been over two weeks, for god's sake, and I don't think she even knows my first name. I've had more interactions with the baby."

Booth sighed and finished off his beer, signaling to the bartender to get him another.

"Well," Sweets began, donning his doctor-professional voice, "as I explained to you earlier, she and Charlie have experienced such a hardening trauma, it's not surprising that Dr. Brennan is presenting rather closed-off, she's acting upon her motherly instincts, doing what she can to protect her child, you know? I mean she hardly knows you. Give her some time, Booth, she'll come around. She's a good person."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm not expecting miracles, Sweets, but it would be nice to see them once a week," he joked, "but the weird thing is that it's not even like they're ignoring me completely- some days she'll come into the kitchen and offer to cook with me, or she and Charlie will be watching TV and invite me to join them. Most days, though," He took a sip of his fresh drink, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his dress shirt, "Most days, it's like they aren't even staying in my house. Sometimes I come home and they're gone, and everything is untouched like they've been gone all day," hoping to squeeze some information out of his seemingly all-knowing friend, he added, "do you have any idea where they disappear to?"

Sweets thought for a moment, tapping his fingers against the granite bar. His eyes igniting with a sudden realization, he exclaimed with a grin, "As a matter of fact, I think I do."

* * *

Wandering through the automatic doors, Booth stopped in the heart of the Jeffersonian laboratory.

He stuck his hand in the side pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a napkin etched with the Founding Fathers' logo. Carefully opening it up, he read the room number and name Sweets had written on it the previous night.

_Angela Montenegro, room #447._

Trying to figure out how to tackle such a huge facility, he decided to circle around the platform until he found the room, and hopefully woman, he was looking for.

Starting to the left, he read each door plaque one by one.

_#443- Laboratory 1_

_#444- Entomology Department_

_#445- Case File Archive_

_#446- Laboratory 2_

_#447- Facial Reconstruction_

Slightly confused as to why Sweets would send him here, Booth rapped on the door with the back of his hand.

As it swung open, he was met by an exotically beautiful, tall woman.

"Angela Montenegro?" He asked.

"That's me, but you can just call me Angie," she purred, "What can I call you?"

Made slightly uncomfortable by her shameless flirtation, Booth stuttered, "uh Booth, Seeley," he swallowed hard, taking a moment to steady his quavering legs, "Seeley Booth, but people just call me Booth," he was finally able to say.

"Your first name is Seeley," he heard a different voice call with realization from within the room. As she approached, he realized it was Dr. Brennan.

"It became apparent to me this morning that I did not know your first name," Brennan explained.

"Yeah, well, now you do. If you don't mind, just call me Booth," he said, addressing both women.

Angela and Brennan nodded their heads in agreement.

Craning his neck, Booth tried to look past them, hoping to see whether or not Charlie was in the seemingly large office.

Just then he heard a small thud from inside as he saw the little girl waddling towards him.

"Hiya, Boof!" She yelled, little hands waving frantically.

The three adults couldn't help but chuckle at her mispronunciation of his name. In that moment, he realized that it was the first time Charlie said his name, which made his heart skip a beat.

"Hey there, kiddo, what's happening?" he asked, unable to suppress a grin.

"Play?" She asked him.

"Ah, no, sorry pumpkin, I didn't come here to play."

Noting the disappointment in her eyes, he added, "but later, I'm all yours."

Pleased with his promise, Charlie nodded and smiled satisfactorily, then turned back into the room.

Booth then realized that he didn't actually know why he came. As if she could read his mind, Brennan questioned, "So why did you come, Booth? I find it highly improbable that you have any FBI business to conduct in a scientific laboratory."

It was the other woman, Angie, who spoke next, "Hey, sweetie, let's not interrogate the cutie, alright?" turning towards Booth, she redisplayed a viciously coy smile, "Would you like to come in? We were just drinking some coffee and chatting- we don't have a case right now so I'm bored, and Bren has nothing to do all day so she's bored, so we've been taking the time to catch up. Plus I missed her little munchkin- that kid is just too cute."

"We met years ago, when we were both still college students," Brennan added, hoping to clarify to Booth that Angela and herself were in fact old friends.

"Oh, yeah, that's nice. I should get going, though. Thanks for the invite, anyway!" Booth spun around on his heels and practically ran out of the laboratory, away from one of the most awkward encounters of his life.

Finally making it to the street, he released the breath he didn't know he was holding as he walked towards the parking lot.

"He never did say why he came, you know," Angela noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Yet I know why," Brennan said, making a futile attempt to cover the sweet laughter that bubbled off her tongue.

* * *

Pulling into the parking lot at the supermarket, Booth dug around in the console searching for the grocery list he had hastily pulled together before work while he was still groggy. His fingers finding the crinkled paper, he gripped it at the corner and excavated it from the mess of empty bottles, chargers and various sets of directions to crime scenes.

_Beer_

_Broccoli + carrots_

_Spaghetti_

_Apples_

_Potato chips_

_Chocolate chip cookies_

_Coffee filters_

_Paper towels_

_Charlie_

Pausing at this item, he tried to remember why his still sleeping brain had put the name of his little houseguest on a grocery list.

_Fruit snacks and chocolate milk_, he remembered, _I must have been thinking of what she might want, and wrote her name instead_.

He then realized that he didn't ask Brennan if there was anything specific she wanted, not that she would have asked for anything, anyway.

Making a sudden decision, Booth pulled out of the lot and drove in the direction of his home, hoping he would find who he was looking for.

Walking down the corridor to his apartment, Booth heard yelling coming from within. Instinctively, he yanked his gun out of the holster and silently opened the door.

To his surprise, in his living room he found Brennan and an older man engaged in a screaming match. When the man saw Booth's drawn weapon and badge, he ran through the door before Booth had a chance to stop him.

"Who the hell was that?" He asked, voice bursting with shock.

"I'm sorry Booth, I don't know what he was doing here, but I can assure you he will never make an appearance again."

"Okay..." he hesitated, "but who was he?"  
"Charlie's grandfather," adding, almost as an afterthought, "and my father."

* * *

**see right below this is a little spot to write a review so do it please please please **


	5. Chapter 5

**When I have 60 reviews, I'll post the next chapter, so if you like this and are reading it, let me know!**

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Bones and the characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them.

* * *

"Oh… okay. You don't seem to be too thrilled, though," Booth said quizzically.

"He's a conman. He steals, He lies- he does," she sighed, running her fingers through her short auburn hair, "he does horrible things, and he expects me to be his darling daughter, but I'm not, I haven't been since he abandoned my brother and I when I was 16."

Brennan walked into the kitchen, pulling out a stool and plopping down at the counter. Putting his gun and badge in the drawer by the entrance, he followed.

Struck with a sudden realization, he asked, "Hold up- how did he know you were here?"

"He's a criminal, Booth. He has ways to find out anything he wants."

"Oh," Booth said, understanding her point of using the term criminal- Pelant could find her, too, if he tried.

"You know what you need?" Booth asked, unnecessarily and uncomfortably chipper.

"No," Brennan answered, matter of fact.

"Fun. You need fun. Say, where's the little monster? She could use some fun too."

Chuckling at how Booth referred to her daughter, Brennan called out, "Char?"

When there was no response, she added, " Come here, pumpkin," using the nickname Booth had given her.

The adults heard thumping down the hall as Charlie came into view.

"Hey there, kiddo!" Booth exclaimed, feeling unusually happy to see her, "how about we go do something fun, pumpkin? Ever been to a zoo?"

"Oh," Brennan frowned, "I do not like zoos."

"Alrighty," Booth said, hardly skipping a beat, "the museum. You like those, don't ya, Brennan?"

"I do enjoy museums, yes."

"Okie dokie, then, museum it is! Ever been to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History?"

"Actually, no, we have not. We've hardly passed any time in DC, and the time we had was not spent in museums."

Unable to contain his excitement, Booth practically cheered, "Let's go, then! I'll drive."

Seeing her smile, Booth looked her in the eyes, "and Brennan?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"For?"

"You know, for telling me about your dad."

"I don't know why my warning you about my father's debacles with the law warrants a thank you, but you're welcome."

Smiling, Booth just nodded his head.

* * *

"Oh!" Charlie gasped, her eyes pools of blue, gaping at the bones of an incredibly large dinosaur.

Dr. Brennan, seizing the opportunity to share her passion with her daughter, began rambling to the baby about the life of the dinosaur she was looking at, including details about its skeletal structure.

"Wowza, Brennan, you sure know a lot about that dinosaur just by looking at its skeleton," Booth praised her, shocked and impressed by her extensive knowledge.

"Lemme give it a try," he said, a devilish grin spread across his face, "By looking at these bones, I can conclude that this, was a dinosaur," reading the plaque, he added, " a tyrannosaurus rex!"

Brennan, stifling a giggle, clapped sarcastically for his performance. Charlie, mimicking her mother, clapped too.

Smiling, Booth bowed for his audience.

"But really, Brennan, how do you do it?" Booth asked, practically mesmerized.

"Well, Booth," she said with a chuckle, "bones are what I do- I stare at them all day long. I find that you actually can get more from a set of remains than from a living person."

"That's it!" Booth exclaimed, eyes full of childish glee.

"Pardon?"

"I've been trying to think of a nickname for you! Everybody calls you Brennan," starting to feel awkward, he hesitated, looking down at his feet and taking a moment to clear his throat, "and I mean I gave Charlie a nickname, so you should have one too," he said, giving her a sheepish grin.

"I can follow your logic," Brennan agreed, a small smile playing at her lips.

"Bones it is, then," Booth confirmed with a smile, "Bones and pumpkin."

* * *

Walking through the front door with the girls after their trip, Booth instinctively went towards the fridge when it occurred to him that he hadn't actually gone to the supermarket.

_Well I guess I can ask Bones if she wants anything now,_ he thought.

_Bones._

He loved that such a silly nickname could give him goosebumps just by thinking it.

"Hey, Bones! I'm going to the supermarket," he spun around to meet her face-to-face, "wanna come?"

Pulling into the supermarket parking lot for the second time that day, Booth decided to ditch the shopping list and just let Bones help him decide what to buy. Hopping out of the car, he jogged towards the entrance to grab a shopping cart.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Brennan asked herself as she unbuckled Charlie and lifted her out of the car seat.

Placing the child on her hip, Brennan slammed the door shut and headed towards Booth.

* * *

An aggravated puff of air escaped Brennan's mouth.

She was squatting in the snack aisle, trying to reach the fruit snacks hiding in the back of the bottom shelf while also balancing Charlie on her knee.

Standing up abruptly, "here," she said, unceremoniously dumping the child in Booth's arms and returning to the ground.

Silently gasping, Booth felt his heart skip a beat when the little girl snuggled into his broad, solid chest.

"Hey, pumpkin," he cooed.

"Hiya, Boof," she giggled, staring at him with her clear eyes, "chocolate milk?" she asked, her wide eyes blinking slowly.

"Oh, yeah, we almost forgot!" squatting to meet the doctor at eye level, "hey, Bones, me and the monster are gonna go find the chocolate milk, okay? You can meet us over there when you're done."

Brennan nodded, not even slightly concerned that a man she had known for less than three weeks was wandering off with her child.

"Be there in a few," she said, too busy reading the nutrition facts on the fruit snacks to say any more.

Leaving the aisle, Booth started towards the dairy section of the supermarket.

"There!" Charlie yelled.

Looking around him, Booth quickly noted that he was nowhere near the chocolate milk.

"What, pumpkin?" He asked. Looking to his right, he noticed the breakfast aisle, "the cereal?"

Nodding her head rapidly, the baby wriggled to be let down so she could get a box of cheerios.

Booth set her on the ground, grabbing her hand so she wouldn't get out of his sight and allowed her to pull him towards the cereal.

"O!" Charlie giggled, pointing at the yellow box.

"No, silly baby, CHEERI-o," Booth said with a chuckle, knowing full well that trying to correct a baby's pronunciation was a waste of breath.

"Your daughter is beautiful," Booth heard behind him.

Spinning around, he found himself looking at an elderly woman.

"Oh," Booth squeaked, unsure what to say, "yeah, she's a cute little monster."

He heard the familiar clicking of boots coming towards them and prayed that the woman would leave before Bones arrived.

"So how old is she?"

_Great,_ Booth thought, _just what I need- a nosey old lady._

"She's going to be three in a month," Brennan answered, voice swelling with pride.

"Oh and you must be the mother! What a beautiful daughter you have!"

Ignoring the implication in the first part of the comment, Brennan smiled and agreed, "yes, she is a beautiful child," turning to Booth and trying to suppress a giggle, "isn't she?"

"Yep," he confirmed, "But, uh, we gotta go now, sorry!"

Tossing a box of cheerios to Bones, he picked up Charlie and in one swoop put her on his shoulders.

"Bye!" he yelled, more or less sprinting towards the chocolate milk, Bones running after him and Charlie laughing madly.

"What a beautiful young family," he heard the woman say, and he knew Bones heard it too.

* * *

**As you can see I'm sort of just building the relationship between Booth and Bones.**

**Also, Bones' backstory with her father is the same as it is on the show, so I don't think I'll explain it too much further.**

**Review review review!**

**-T**


	6. Chapter 6

**I've been kinda busy with school starting soon so I'm not sure how frequent updates will be! sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or the characters, just borrowing.**

* * *

"Hey, Bones, you and Charlie wanna go out for ice cream?"

Booth sat in the living room, struggling through a case.

"It's almost 7, and I've been working on this lead for two hours-I could use a break."

"Sorry to disappoint," Brennan called from her room, "but Charlie has already fallen asleep, and I don't think I'll be awake for much longer, either; we've had an exhaustingly long day."

Stepping into the hall, Booth saw that she was wearing the same pajamas as the previous night, and as he thought back, the night before that.

"Hey, Bones, are those your only pair of pjs?" he asked, voice laced with concern.

Blushing, Brennan looked down at her green and white striped socks, "oh, well I assumed, incorrectly, that we wouldn't need your assistance for very long, so I only packed one pair."

"You've been here for a month," Booth stated, turning around, "hold on a sec," he called to her, running down the hall to his room.

Brennan heard drawers slamming open and shut, and suddenly Booth was in front of her, shoving a pair of Captain America boxers and an FBI t-shirt into her face.

"Oh, Booth, it's okay- I'm fine with what I have," she reassured.

"No, Bones, take 'em- I have a whole dresser full of FBI shirts, honest."

"Well, okay," she said, reaching out slowly to take the clothes from him, "Thank you."

"No problemo," Booth said through a grin.

Their fingers brushing in the pass-off, both waited an extra moment, dreading breaking contact, before turning to their rooms.

"G'night, Bones," Booth said from his doorway.

"Goodnight, Booth."

* * *

"Seeley Joseph Booth, let me in!"

Booth woke suddenly, trying to drown the gasp of shock forming in his throat.

_What the hell,_ he thought, _is that Rebecca?_

Getting up from the couch where he fell asleep, Booth groggily stumbled towards the furious pounding, looking through the peephole before opening the door.

Sure enough, on the other side was Rebecca, and at her hand their son, Parker.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, squinting from the bright light of the hall outside his apartment, "It's 3 AM."

"I have to go down to Florida for a while, and I need you to take Parker," she said, already handing Booth a duffle bag and a drowsy child.

"What could possibly be so urgent you need to leave now?"

"My dad died."

"Oh," Booth said, unsure whether or not he had to console her, "but you didn't talk to him."

"Yeah, well, I'm the only person left in my family so I have to deal with the funeral, and his assets, particularly his home, and I need to do it now."

"Okay, I'm not gonna argue with you," Booth said, giving her half a smile, "plus, I always love spending time with my boy."

Just then, a door creaked open from within the apartment.

"Seeley?" Rebecca said slowly, one eyebrow raised, "What, or who, was that?"

He didn't have to answer as Brennan came strolling towards them, dressed in Booth's clothes.

"Booth?" She asked, still drowsy with sleep and not noticing the child, "who is that?"

"No, Seeley," Rebecca said through gritted teeth, "who is _that_?"

"Rebecca, this is Bones," blushing, he quickly corrected himself, "I mean Dr. Temperance Brennan, she and her daughter are staying with me for a little while."

"Oh," Bones said, skeptically, beginning to wake, "you're Rebecca."

"Yeah," Rebecca said, too distracted to realize that Booth must have told Brennan about her, "Why are you wearing his clothes?"

"Oh," Booth said too quickly, "funny story, you see-"

"I don't have time for this, Seeley," Rebecca interrupted, rolling her eyes, "I have a plane to catch."

Bending down, she gave a sleepy Parker a kiss goodbye, and walked away, taking time to say goodbye to neither Bones nor Booth.

"Well, she seems lovely," Bones said, eyebrows raised.

"Wow, Bones, did you just use sarcasm?" Booth asked, proud of her social accomplishment.

Smiling, Bones giggled back, "I suppose I did!"

"I'm a bad influence on you, Dr. Brennan," Booth said with a devilish grin.

Just then, Parker tugged at his father's sleeve, as if to remind Booth of his presence, "Daddy, I'm sleepy."

"Oh, of course, baby, I bet you are. Let's get you to bed," Booth cooed, scooping up his half-sleeping child.

Suddenly remembering that the girls were staying where Parker usually slept, Booth brought his son to his bedroom, taking care to tuck him into the excessively large bed.

"Goodnight, kiddo," Booth said, Kissing his son on the forehead, "I love you to the moon and back."

Parker, already asleep, did nothing but sigh.

* * *

Booth awoke to the smell of bacon. Slowly sitting, he checked his watch, 7:04 AM.

Following the scent, Booth wandered into the kitchen where he was met with the back of Bones' head.

Sensing his presence, she spun around, spatula in hand.

"Good morning, Booth!" she said, "Char got up early, and so we were going to come watch TV when we found you on the couch, so we looked in your bedroom and Parker was wide awake, messing with the controls on your high quality stereo system," she paused to catch her breathe, "I brought him into my room to play with Charlie, and they hit it up instantly!" she smiled.

"Hit it _off_, Bones," Booth chuckled, "not hit it up."

"Yes, well nevertheless, I left them playing and came to cook breakfast for everyone," pointing to the array of foods on the counter, "I made, pancakes, sausage, toast, eggs, and bacon."

"Wow, thanks, Bones," Booth said, "It all looks so good."

"Help yourself, I was just going to go get the kids."

Turning off the stove and dumping the last of the bacon on a paper towel, she walked towards the guestroom to get the two little monsters.

Booth paused a moment before digging in, drinking up the way she so nonchalantly said "the kids".

"Also," Brennan called from down the hall, "I was planning on taking Parker with us when we went to go see Angela today, so you could work without worrying about him."

Smiling, Booth answered, "That'd be great, thanks, Bones."

"No problem."

* * *

"I just don't know if I can do this anymore," Angela said with a sigh, running her fingers through her dark hair, "this case just might be too much for us."

The case in question had them all stumped. Usually, cases started in the forensics department, the squint squad going through evidence to gather all they could. Then the evidence would be sent to the FBI, where it was used to solve the crime. This case, however, was different.

For one, the victims were twin 5 year old girls, which struck close to nearly everyone working the case as most of them were parents. Also, the killer was extremely smart and clean, leaving behind nearly nothing for the team to work with. Because they were so stuck, Booth, the head agent on the case, had been hanging around the Jeffersonian to work more directly with the squints.

"Could I be of assistance?" Brennan asked her friend.

"I don't know, sweetie, Clarke has already looked at the remains."

"Yes, well," Brennan guffawed, "I am the best in the field, and I almost certainly will be able to find more than he did."

Shrugging, Angela sighed, "It's worth a shot."

Just then, they were interrupted by a knock.

Lazily standing up to open the door, Angela quickened her pace when she realized it was her husband, Jack Hodgins, and their son.

"Hey, baby," he said with a wide smile, "we missed you and came to visit."

Seeing Brennan, he handed the child over to Angie so he could give his old friend a hug.

"Hey, Bren! Gosh, it's been, what, like a year since I saw you last!" Noticing Charlie, he released Brennan to scoop up the baby, "And hey, princess! Wow, you've gotten so big!"

Handing the girl back to her mother, Hodgins grinned, happy to see them.

"Hello, Dr. Hodgins, it's nice to see you, too," Brennan smiled.

Noticing Parker, Hodgins furrowed his brow, "who's this?"

"Oh, you know agent Booth? This is his son, Parker. Angela and I were keeping an eye on him while Booth works."

"Oh," Hodgins said, "That's nice. Hey, kiddo!" he said to Parker.

Too busy with Michael already, Parker hardly acknowledged him.

"So what's up?" Hodgins asked, returning his attention to Brennan.

"Well," she started, "I was just offering my assistance on the case."

"Oh, wow, Bren, that's super nice of you. We could use all the help we can get on this one," Hodgins said, his tone rather somber.

"Yes, well, I honestly have nothing else to do, and I love my work," she added, "but I have to go talk to the head of the lab and get visitor privileges, so will you watch her for a minute?" she asked, handing the baby back to Hodgins.

"Sure, sweetie," Angie spoke, "and watch out, Hodgins, seeing all three of the kids together is making me want like a million of them."

Not sure how serious she was being, Hodgins could only laugh nervously.

* * *

Booth was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. Scrambling to find it in his desk drawer, he answered it at the last minute.

"**Booth," **he said into the phone.

"**Yes," **the man on the other end replied.

"**Sorry, sir, but I don't know who this is- what can I help you with?"**

"**Don't you dare hurt her, and don't you dare let her get hurt."**

"**I'm sorry?" **Booth asked, confused.

"**If anything happens to her or the baby, you'll be next."**

Recognizing the voice, Booth quickly opened the case file he had pulled to check his name.

"**Nothing will happen to either of them, Max," **Booth said**, "does Bones know you're calling me?"**

"**Bones?" **Max asked, puzzled by the bizarre nickname,** "she would never allow me to if I told her- she can't seem to get past my criminal past."**

"**Why should I?" **Booth asked, slightly skeptical of the man's motive.

"**She's my daughter. If anything were to happen to her, I would die."**

Booth heard a click as Max hung up the phone.

_Well, okay,_ he thought, _that was a little strange._

Booth arrived at Angela's office to find her, the guy he knew only as "bug boy", and three children asleep on the couch.

"Uh, hello?" he asked, knocking on the door, hoping one of the adults would wake up.

"Ugh," Angela moaned, "what time is it?"

"It's 4 pm," Booth answered, trying not to laugh.

"Wait a minute," Angela said, a confused expression filling her face, "Where's Brennan? She left almost three hours ago and should have been back by now."

Immediately remembering his phone call with Max, Booth's placid expression changed to one of fear.

"Bones is missing?"

"If by 'Bones' you mean Bren, then yeah, I guess."

Not wasting another moment, Booth turned to the door and ran out of the lab.

Reaching the street, he scanned the surroundings for any sign of the woman.

Running towards the parking lot, he saw a familiar blue jacket in the back corner. As he got closer, he could tell that Brennan was clearly upset, and was being gripped at the wrist by a large, dark haired man. Remembering the image of Christopher Pelant, Booth pulled out his weapon and approached the pair as quietly as possible.

When it became apparent to Booth that the man would not be able to see him, he holstered his gun and instead took out the cuffs. In one swoop, he lunged for the man's wrists, cuffed him, and pressed him to the pavement.

"Booth! What are you doing?"

Looking up from what he thought was a heroic act, Booth saw a look of horror on Brennan's face. Turning the man around to get a better look at his face, he realized the man was not in fact Pelant.

"Booth, meet Tim Sullivan, Charlie's father."

* * *

**yep.**

**review review review please**

**-T**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay- I deleted my instagram and school is starting a lot is happening right now so this took me a while to write. **

**I have a confession to make: I do not really enjoy bones anymore. It seems to have lost its magic for me, and that's making this harder for me to write. I'm trying to just pretend that they're random characters, but it's still difficult. I'll do the best I can to keep the story going.**

**if you like castle follow my new account !**

* * *

"Father?" Booth asked, his grip on the man tightening.

"Correct," Sully said.

"Alright," Booth spit, uncuffing him, "so tell me why this is the first time I've met you."

Sully looked at Brennan, hoping she would do the talking. Realizing that this was all on him, he stood up and brushed the gravel off his pants.

"Well, agent Booth, Charlotte was not exactly planned, and when Temperance told me she was pregnant, I told her right away that I was not interested in raising a child. Plus, I had plans to travel the world on my boat."

Booth snorted at how ridiculous the man was.

"He's telling the truth, Booth," Brennan assured, "Sully had other plans, and I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep her, so I told him to go."

"I left on my boat, but wound up staying out for longer than I had expected," Sully added, "you can imagine my surprise when I returned to find I had a three year old daughter."

"We actually were discussing our situation when you interrupted us," Brennan told him, trying to hide the grin forming as she thought about Booth tackling Sully.

"Oh, well I'll leave you to it, then," Booth said, blushing at his mistake.

Walking back towards the lab, Booth couldn't help but laugh at his hilariously foolish misconception.

* * *

"Did you guys know that this 'Sully' guy is Charlie's father?" Booth asked Angela and Hodgins upon returning to the lab.

"We had our suspicions," Hodgins said, "When Brennan got pregnant a few years ago, we kinda figured it had to be him since he was the last man she was with."

"I don't get how you can just leave on a freaking boat for three years," Booth said, exacerbated, "I mean he knew that there was a possibility he was going to be a father, and he just left."

"Bren is reasonable, Booth," Angela reassured, "I can tell you that she definitely hasn't forgotten that. What were they saying when you found them?"

"Well, about that," Booth looked down at his tangled fingers, biting his lip, "I don't actually know… I sort of ran at him and knocked him to the ground."

Cackling, Angela rolled her eyes at the man she just met, "please tell me what on earth compelled you to do that."

"Well, I'd seen the Pelant case files, and from far away, I couldn't see the guy's face, and he has the same general build as Pelant, so I panicked."

"That's actually super heroic, Booth. I bet Bren loved it," Angela said with a reassuring look.

"I don't know, she looked pretty embarrassed to me," Booth admitted.

"Who looked embarrassed?"

All three heads turned to the door to see Brennan leaning against the frame.

Booth spoke first, "Oh hey, Bones! So, how'd your little meeting go?"

"Sully and I managed to reach an agreement," She stated, walking towards her daughter, who was playing with a toy truck as Parker and Michael ran in circles around the couch.

Sensing that she wasn't inclined to say much more, Booth spoke again, "Well, that's good I guess. So… how about that ice cream date now?"

* * *

Booth sat with Charlie on his lap, and Brennan sat with Parker on hers, enjoying the scenery of the park and their ice cream.

"Woah, pumpkin, try getting some of that in your mouth instead of on your face, okay?" Booth chuckled as he wiped Charlie's little lips and cheeks with his sleeve, "We really should have gotten more napkins, Bones, the little monster is such a mess."

"Yeah, well, Parker isn't much better," Brennan said with a smirk, mimicking Booth's actions on Parker.

"Oh well. Kids are just messy. If Rebecca were here, she'd probably throw Park's ice cream away because she'd worry it would drip on her clothes."

"You and Rebecca are remarkably different individuals," Brennan noted.

"Yeah, we never really worked, but then Parker happened, so… I tried to be responsible but she wanted nothing to do with me. She still threatens to fight me for full custody," Booth sighed, running his fingers through Parker's hair, "I don't know what I'd do without him. I didn't understand how much you could really love someone until my boy, and if Rebecca took that away from me…"

"I find that I am offended by Sully's lack of interest in his daughter," Brennan said, tugging at the hem of her sleeve.

"What'd you guys talk about?" Booth asked again, expecting her to shoot him down.

"The first thing he said to me was that he wasn't a father. I was ready to walk away already- clearly Sully is a father- Charlie is undeniable evidence. He meant that he wasn't a dad to her, but to me it's all the same. He told me that I was doing a wonderful job without him."

Booth snorted, rolling his eyes at what an ass this guy was, "I can't argue with that, Bones, you are an excellent mother, but that's not the point. The guy was adult enough to freaking make a baby, but he's not adult enough to help you raise her and that's wrong."

"That was exactly my point. Sully is going back on his boat, to where I don't know, or care. We agreed that he is to have no part in her life, ever. His name isn't on the birth certificate, so he has no rights. Charlie doesn't need someone like him in her life. I'd like to believe that if she was old enough to form reasonable opinions of people, she'd dislike him, anyway."

"I'm sure she would, Bones. She's a smart little kid- she'd tell right away that he's sleazy."

Brennan gave Booth a somber smile, wiping more ice cream from Parker's cheek, "I hope so."

"Hey, Bones, you've got a little ice cream-" Booth stopped talking as his fingers brushed the corner of her mouth, an intimate electricity shocking him where their skin met. They both stopped moving, eyes locked on each other's.

"-on your face." Booth finished, finally able to remove his hand.

"Thanks," she breathed, clearly affected in the same way by the touch.

"So soft…" Booth mumbled to himself.

Brennan blushed.

* * *

Booth startled awake to the shrill ring of his phone. Scrambling out of bed, he dug around in his pocket for the device, careful not to wake Parker.

**"Booth,"** He said into the phone, still mostly asleep. He checked his watch, 3:17 AM.

**"Hello, agent Booth,"** an unfamiliar voice on the other end said.

**"It's a little early to chat, don't ya think? Who are you?"**

**"Oh, I'm nobody. Nobody to you, anyway, but to Dr. Brennan… she'd recognize my voice _instantly_."**

Booth could practically hear the man smirk.

**"Hello, Christopher, or should I just call you Pelant?"**

**"Wow, agent Booth, I am impressed. You sure do catch on quickly."**

**"What do you want? And why are you calling me?"**

**"You probably think Dr. Brennan is safe with you, but you are wrong. I know where she is- I'll find her anywhere she goes."**

**"Why are you telling me this?"**

**"I know how much she means to you; I watch you two together all the time. Don't get too attached."**

Booth heard a click as Pelant hung up the phone.

_I watch you two together all the time._

The eight words repeated on a loop through Booth's mind.

_I have to tell Sweets_, Booth thought, _and Bones._

Quietly pacing around his living room, Booth tried to decide what to do.

_If I tell Sweets, he'll move Brennan somewhere else,_ He reasoned, _but I don't want her to go. And Pelant said that he'd find her anywhere. But Parker… _Booth stopped for a moment; _I don't want him to get mixed up in this. I mean, what if Pelant comes here? I don't know if I could protect Park, Charlie and Brennan from him. But Charlie- I can't just let Bones and Charlie leave; Pelant would definitely come after them._

Booth dug around in his pocket for his phone, pulling it out and dialing a familiar number.

**"Sweets,"** a groggy voice answered.

**"It's me."**

**"Oh, hi, agent Booth, is everything alright?"**

**"Well, kid, not really."**

**"What's wrong?"**

**"Pelant called me."**

**"What? When?" **

Booth could hear that his friend was now wide awake.

**"Just now. He knows they're here, Sweets."**

**"What exactly did he say?"**

**"He said he knew they were with me, and that he would find her wherever she went."**

**"Oh. Wow. Is that it?"**

Booth hesitated before adding the last part, **"He told me not to get too attached to them."  
"Oh."**

**"Yeah."**

** "Well, Booth, I'm not sure what to tell you. Like he told you, Pelant can find the girls wherever they go, so moving them wouldn't guarantee their safety. Quite frankly, they're better off with you than alone."**

**"I don't want them to leave, Sweets, I want to protect them, but I know what I'm up against, and the odds of us winning this battle are pretty damn slim."**

**"Why don't you go back to bed, Booth, and sleep on it. I'll do the same, and we can tell Brennan together in the morning."**

**"Okay, goodnight, kid."**

**"Goodnight, agent Booth."**

Booth hung up the phone, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep that night, or any night for that matter.

* * *

"We need to talk."

Brennan looked up from her cup of coffee, her facing becoming serious when she saw the fear in Booth's eyes.

"About?"

"We need to talk with Sweets. Can you meet us at the royal diner at noon? It'd be best if you left the kids with Angela and Hodgins."

"Yeah, sure," Brennan said, already worrying about the conversation.

"Thanks," Booth said stoically, putting his cup in the dishwasher and scooping up Charlie from the kitchen floor, "I'm going to get her dressed, you finish your coffee."

Brennan nodded, unsure what to say.

_He's getting rid of us_, she immediately thought, _no- that can't be it. We've hardly encroached upon his personal space- he always invites us out. And he loves Charlie_- she paused, realizing the importance of what she'd just concluded. _He loves her- how can we just leave him when all of his is over?_

Just then Booth came back with her daughter.

"Monster's all ready to go," He said, clearly satisfied at how well he had dressed her.

"Thank you, Booth, you did a wonderful job."

He smiled proudly, "No problem, Bones."

* * *

The color drained from Brennan's face.

"When did this happen?"

"Last night," Sweets answered.

"And you waited until now to tell me?" She asked through a clenched jaw.

"Please don't be mad, Bones, but I had to wait for Sweets because he knows about the legal stuff, like liability, if you stayed with me even though Pelant knows where you are."

"Wait- you think that I'd willingly put you in danger by continuing to stay in your home?"

"Well, I mean, I want you there. It's so much safer for you."

"What about you? What about Parker? What if he gets involved in this?" Brennan asked, knowing full well that Booth would never put his son in harm's way.

"I'm going to get him back to Rebecca as soon as I can get in touch with her. What about Charlie?"

"I can protect my daughter, Booth."

"Dr. Brennan, do you honestly believe that? You know what Pelant is capable of," Sweets said, hoping the doctor wasn't insulted by his comment.

She stopped talking, overwhelmed with memories of the last time she 'protected' Charlie.

"Fine. Perhaps Booth is better suited to protect her, but I can fend for myself. I'd like to be relocated, but I'd like Charlie to stay with Booth. After all- it's me Pelant is after."

Booth and Sweets sat silent, stunned by Dr. Brennan's request.

"So, Booth, will you watch Charlie for me?"

* * *

**yep**

**don't know when another update will come, sorry folks.**

**review please! five new reviews or no more updates!**

**-T**


	8. Chapter 8

**SORRY FOR THE DELAY**

**I DONT OWN BONES AND YEAH DISCLAIMER**

* * *

Booth sat at the kitchen counter and dialed Rebecca's phone for the fifth time that hour.

"C'mon, Rebecca," he grumbled, "for once if you could just pick up your phone…"

When he was sent to voicemail again, he hung up and tossed his phone through the door to the living room, hearing it land with a soft thud on the couch.

Standing up, he heard a familiar thumping of footsteps wobbling down the hall.

"Boof!" He heard a little voice call.

Charlie came around the corner and tugged at his pant legs, asking to be picked up.

"Hiya, pumpkin," he cooed, scooping her up with one arm.

"TV?" the baby asked.

"Yeah, sure, little monster."

Walking into the living room, Booth attempted to put the baby down, but she made it clear that she wanted to stay in Booth's arms.

Booth fell backwards onto the couch, settling Charlie into his lap as he reached for the remote control.

"More Barney?" I know it's one of you favorites."

"Barney!" Charlie gurgled.

Booth smiled as he ruffled her hair, putting Barney on.

_I love you… you love me… we're a happy family…_

* * *

Booth awoke to the shrill ring of his phone. Getting his bearings in the dark, he realized he was still on the couch with Charlie, but she was asleep on his lap. At some time while they were both asleep, Parker had come in and wedged himself next to Charlie. He was also sleeping.

Checking the time before he answered his phone, Booth saw it was almost 10 PM. looking at the caller ID, he saw Rebecca's name and picture flashing on the screen.

**"It's about freaking time,"** he grumbled.

**"What the _hell_ took so long, Rebecca? I've been calling you for 24 hours straight!"**

A man cleared his throat on the other end.

**"Oh,"** Booth said, confused, **"who is this?"**

**"I'm assuming you're Seeley Booth? Father of Rebecca Stinson's son, Parker?"**

**"Yeah... who are you? Why are you calling me from Rebecca's phone?"**

"Mr. Booth, I'm so sorry, but Ms. Stinson was in an accident."

Booth gased, choking on air.

**"Oh my god,"** He said with a breath, **"Is she alright?"**

**"Mr. Booth, she unfortunately did not survive. I'm incredibly sorry for your loss."**

Booth furrowed his brows, sighing as he violently ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh my god," he mumbled.

He looked down at his sleeping son, thinking about how he could ever tell the kid his mother wasn't coming home.

Just then, he heard keys jiggling in the lock. Deciding he'd just call back in the morning after clearing his mind a bit, Booth hung up the phone without a goodbye.

Scooping up Charlie in his left arm and grabbing Parker and tossing his fireman-style over his right shoulder, Booth rose to meet the opening door.

Slowly, it inched open, until they were face to face.

"Sorry for being so late, Booth, but I had a lot of work to do on the case with which I am currently assisting," Bones said as she took her boots off and dropped her bag.

"No problem, Bones, but if you don't mind, call next time- I was a little worried."

"Of course. I really am sorry, Booth."

"Don't be," He said, handing the woman her sleeping baby.

"Listen, Bones, there's something I gotta tell you, and it's bad."

Unsure what to think, she furrowed her brow, tilting her head and shifting all of weight from her left to her right foot.

"What's wrong?"

"Rebecca," he started, "she, um, she was in an accident. She died, Bones. Rebecca's dead."

She gasped, her lips forming a perfect 'o'.

"Booth, oh my god, I am so sorry. I know you two were hardly on speaking terms, but still. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you."

She stopped talking and looked at Parker, still out cold, draped across his father's broad body.

"Have you-" gesturing to the kid.

"No, I haven't. I just found out, like thirty seconds before you walked in."

"I'm so sorry, Booth. Really, if there's anything I can do-"

""Thanks, Bones, but I'm just gonna go to bed with my boy. I need to process this, you know?"

"I do not know, per say, but I can understand. Goodnight, Booth."

"G'night, Char," Booth said, giving the baby in Brennan's arms a kiss on the forehead, "G'night, Bones," Booth said, giving the scientist a kiss on the cheek, walking to his room before she the flush could creep to her cheeks.

* * *

"What are you going to do?" Bones asked Booth over their morning coffee.

"I don't really know, honestly. Rebecca has some family left on her mom's side, like a couple cousins and maybe an aunt, so I think they're taking care of pretty much everything."

"That's not exactly what I was referring to," Bones said.

Booth knew exactly what she had been referring to, and he just hadn't wanted to answer.

"Well, obviously he's going to move in with me permanently, and he wasn't close to any of her family, so I don't really have to worry about that. The only problem is that i hardly have the space in this tiny apartment."

"Well, Booth, since the core of my agreeing to stay with you involved Parker staying out of harms way, and that's not a viable option anymore, I think it's time for me to go. I don't want to cause you any trouble, and I could never live with myself if anything were to happen to either you or Parker."

"Hey, Bones, listen to me," Booth said, putting a finger under her strong jaw to delicately turn her head until their eyes locked, "you are not leaving. Having Parker here has changed the game a little, but I'll make it work- I always do."

Brennan gave him a somber smile, which Booth mimicked.

Brennan noticed the way the skin around Booth's eyes crinkles when he smiles, how he raises his eyebrows as the corners of his lips turn up, how incredibly symmetrical his face is.

The sound of giggling from Bones' room interrupted her investigation.

"And the 'monsters' have awoken," she said with a quick laugh.

Booth stood quickly and ran down the hall towards her room, returning shortly with two children.

"Look what I found, Bones!" He cheered, "two monsters!"

"Grrrrrr," Parker growled.

"Ggggg," Charlie squeaked, trying to copy Parker, and eliciting a chuckle from Both Booth and Brennan.

"I bet they're, hungry monsters," Bones said, playing along, "and what would a hungry monster eat other than pancakes?" She asked, already pouring batter on a griddle.

Booth put Parker on a stool and strapped Charlie into the highchair he had bought for her the other day.

"Alright, hungry monsters, who wants pancakes?"

* * *

"Has Sullivan left for his stupid boat-ocean-tour thing yet?"

Booth and Brennan were sitting together on the couch. For the first time in days, Booth kids were asleep by 9 and the adults were enjoying a much needed movie night.

Things had surprisingly been going really smoothly for the past couple of weeks, despite the fact that there were four people crammed into Booth's tiny apartment and there were the ever-foreboding threats of Pelant hanging over their heads. Once they found their rhythm, it felt as though they had been raising children together their whole lives.

"He left yesterday morning. He didn't say goodbye."

"Wow, Bones, whatta jerk. Thank god he'll be a billion miles away, and in the middle of the ocean no less!"

"It's physically impossible to be a billion miles away from any given point on earth, Booth," Bones said with a giggle, for the first time not actually caring about a whimsical mathematical and factual error.

"Yeah, well it feels like a billion, and that's good enough."

Booth looked over at Brennan and found she wasn't smiling anymore.

"Hey, Bones," he said with a frown, "what's up? Did you not actually want him to leave?"

"No, of course I did! He told me that he wanted nothing to do with Charlie, and that made me angrier than I have ever been. Charlie is my daughter, is _our_ daughter, and the fact that he was so disinterested in my entire world- I was so angry..."

Brennan looked down at her hands, adjusting the watch on her wrist.

"But I was also really hurt. Not just for me, but for Charlie. Being raised without a father can be incredibly damaging to a young child, and what happens when she's older, and asks me about her mysterious dad? What do I tell her, Booth? 'Your father didn't want you, so he left us both without second thoughts to sail his boat through the seas'? I could never do that to her- it would destroy me, seeing what that did to her" she said, choking back the beginning of a sob.

Booth gave her a sorrowful smile, not sure what to say.

Suddenly Brennan was scooting towards him.

"Could you just-"

She didn't finish the sentence before she collapsed into his arms.

Wrapping his strong build around her, Booth held her close to his chest, running his fingers through her soft, sweet-smelling hair.

"Yeah, Bones. It's why I'm here. I'm always here- for you, and for Char," he soothed.

_I love both of you, _he added in his mind.

He loved her. He had known for weeks, for months. He loved everything about her- from the way she furrowed her brow when she was confused, to how her hair stood up at the top when she first woke up. He loved the way she smiled whenever she even mentioned her daughter's name, and how her eyes lit up when she talked about her work or passions. Booth was in love with her in the deepest meaning, and he was almost certain she felt the same.

_I'm a gambler_, he thought, gently using just his index finger to lift her head from his chest.

Looking into her abysmal eyes, Booth used his thumb to wipe the tears slowly tumbling down her cheeks. Missing a few, he watched them converge and settle just above her lips.

Booth carefully brushed them away, Brennan unmoved by the close contact.

Unconsciously, she lifted her head a bit more until she and Booth were breathing the same air. Closing the distance, Booth leaned forward and swiftly pressed his lips to hers, pulling away after just a moment.

Brennan blinked at him, the final tears falling from her eyes as her lips found his again in the dark.

* * *

**I bet you're all saying "IT'S ABOUT TIME!" not only about how long it took for me to update but also for B&B to break the barrier ha sorry**

**I am so busy with school and whatnot so I'm really sorry it took so long!**

**Again, I need three review before I start writing the next chapter. It's not that I'm holding you "hostage", but rather I'm putting so much time into a fan fiction for a show I don't really enjoy anymore, so I like to see that people are actually reading it before I spend any more time writing.**

**that is all.**

**-T**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay so i recognize that this is a very very short chapter, I just pulled it together last minute to placate some folks. There won't be another update until thursday or friday because I have to write my college application essays(ew). Anyway yeah.**

**Disclaimer I don't own bones or the characters yadayadayada**

* * *

"We need to talk."

Brennan looked up from the science section of the morning paper and found Booth staring at her.

"About?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"Oh, don't even try that. You know exactly what I mean, Bones."

"We have nothing to talk about. I admit that I find you aesthetically pleasing, and in a time of need I sought comfort-"

"Stop with the bullshit, Temperance. This is more than physical attraction, and to deny that would make you an idiot, and I KNOW you're not an idiot."

"I have to go now," she said, standing abruptly and grabbing her bag from the kitchen counter, "Angela needs my assistance at the lab."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Booth grumbled, putting his mug in the sink and trudging towards the bathroom.

"I'll bring the kids with me," Brennan called from the hall.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Booth heard his son and Charlie gurgling together. He didn't respond. Brennan figured it was because the water was already running.

"C'mon, Char, Park," Brennan said, holding a little hand in each of hers.

"Daddy?" Parker asked.

"He's coming a little later, you'll see him tonight."

"See tonight?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, baby, you'll see him too."

* * *

"Good morning, Angela," Brennan chirped at her friend, who was already hard at work trying to reconstruct a face from a pile of skull fragments.

"Hey, Bren, what's up?" She asked, not bothering to look up from her work.

"Nothing in particular," Brennan said, and then upon consideration adding, "I think I'm currently in a fight with Booth."

Angela dropped the skull-marker she was holding and it landed with a bounce by her feet.

"About?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I kissed Booth last night-or Booth kissed me-but then I kissed him back-but anyway really it was more than just a kiss, actually-"

Before she could finish, Hodgins strolled in wielding lab reports.

Hey, Ange, Dr.B, look what-"

"Honey, I love you, but you really need to leave." Angela all but shrieked at him, shooing him away with her hands.

"But leave the reports, please," Brennan added.

Giving them a quizzical look, Hodgins dropped the papers on a table by the door before slowly backing out, looking back before turning the corner to give them a half-assed death stare.

"So?" Ange said, "OMG!"

Brennan furrowed her brow, "OMG? I don't know what that means."

"Oh my god, sweetie, you really need to get out more- or I'll send you a book full of text lingo."

Ignoring her friend's comment, Brennan began to tell Angela about the night's happenings.

"So let me get this straight- you and Booth made out on his couch, and you wound up _topless,_ but this morning you told him there was _nothing to talk about_?!"

"I hardly know the man, Angela, and I admit that I find him incredibly attractive, but-"

"No buts. And you do know him, better than anyone here, I'll tell you. You were the first to meet Parker, the first to hear about Rebecca, I mean you know everything about him- you freaking live with him!"

"Well the former are only in consequence of the latter, and I only live with him because I was assigned to his home."

Angela gave her the look that usually meant something like 'stop bullshitting'.

Brennan sighed, knowing full well she wasn't being truthful.

"What do I do, Ange? I think perhaps I was lying when I said there was nothing to talk about."

"Wow, Temperance Brennan asking for advice? Motherhood has made you soft, my friend. But anyway, it's pretty obvious how you feel about him, and it's pretty obvious how he feel about you, too. Tell him. You don't have to do it today, or tomorrow, or even the next day, but don't wait too long because a guy like Booth isn't going to wait around forever."

"That was fairly helpful. Perhaps I should request advice from you on a more frequent occasion."

"Always here to help, Bren," Angela said with a small smile, "always here to help."

* * *

"Birthday!"

Brennan awoke to her small child bouncing up and down, her knees dug into her mother's chest.

"Woah, hey, Char. I'd love to celebrate with you, but you seem to be suffocating me," Brennan said, chuckling at her baby.

As she completed the sentence, Booth swooped in, scooping the child from her mother, allowing Brennan to sit up.

After taking a moment to process what had just occurred, Charlie squirmed in Booth's arms so she was facing him.

"Birthday!" She said, followed by a cheerful shriek.

"Yeah, pumpkin, it's your big day! The big 0-3! Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?"

With that, he tossed her over his shoulder and ran from the bedroom towards the kitchen, Parker running close behind.

Brennan smiled to herself. Rather than dismissing the warmth she was feeling, she embraced it and the thoughts of how happy her little family made her.

Standing up, she paused briefly in front of the mirror to run her fingers through her hair and put on her dolphin ring.

"Hey, Bones, are you having pancakes too?" Booth called from the kitchen.

Smiling, she yelled back, "of course, today is such a special occasion, how could I say no?"

Suddenly, she heard the smoke alarm begin to go off.

_He must have burned them, as usual,_ she thought as she strolled towards the kitchen. Before she could place a foot on the familiar blue tiles, she felt a strong hand grab her from behind and cover her face with a rag of sorts. The last thing she heard was the sound of the smoke alarm, still sounding shrilly in her ears.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN**

**sorry**

**tbh i have no idea where i'm going with this lul okay bye**

**-T**


	10. Chapter 10

**HELLO! I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SEVENTEEN YEARS BUT I KINDA FORGOT LOL BUT NOW I HAVE AN IDEA WHERE IM GOING THANKS TO MY BABE AUTUMN SO YES OKAY ALSO SORRY THIS IS SHORT AND I DIDNT PROOFREAD LOL YOLO BYE PS SPEAKING OF SEVENTEEN YESTERDAY WAS MY SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY HBD TO MEEEEE AND ALSO I AM DONE WITH ALL COLLEGE APP STUFF SO MORE TIME TO WRITE OKAY BYE FOR REAL**

* * *

Slowly regaining consciousness, Booth moved to rub his eyes with his fists only to find his arms bound together at the wrists. Blinking, he opened his eyes and quickly realized he was still in his kitchen, sitting on the floor, against the cabinet; he also realized that Charlie, Parker and Brennan were nowhere in proximity. Fully awakened by the realization, he wiggled his hands around until he was able to grasp the knot under his fingernails and pry it loose.

"Parker…Pumpkin," he mumbled, his voice hoarse, "Bones!"

"Bones," he said again, standing up too quickly. Bracing himself on the counter, he tried to remember what had just happened.

_I was making pancakes,_ he recalled, _and then I felt something in my neck, like a bite or something, and next thing I know the alarm is going off and I'm on the floor. And now I'm here._

Suddenly remembering he was alone, he ran to the guestroom, which he found empty. Spinning around on his heels, he ran back to the living room, which was empty as well. Checking Parker's room, to no surprise he found nobody. Running down the hall, he opened, and consequently slammed shut, every door that lead into empty rooms.

_They're gone_, he realized, digging around for his phone and dialing Brennan's number.

He heard a faint ringing coming from her room, walking down the hall, he found her bag, with her phone and wallet, still on her bed.

"They're gone," he confirmed to himself.

* * *

"They're gone," Booth yelled into the phone.

"Who is gone? Brennan and Charlie?" Sweets asked, still trying to understand what Booth meant.

"We were attacked- drugged, I guess. I woke up, and they were gone- Park, too; they took my boy. Sweets, this is my fault, we gotta find them," Booth said through gritted teeth as he paced through the entirety of his home.

"Are you absolutely certain? Because I don't want to make any assumptions or proceed with any action without-"

"Sweets- they were fucking kidnapped and you're concerned about protocol? We have to find them, now. And it has to be just us, and no phones or computers. This Pelant guy can do anything- he hacked my freaking smoke alarm."

"Okay," Sweets said, "Okay. Meet me at the diner, and we'll talk there."

* * *

**"Was it you?"** Booth asked

**"Was what me?"** Max asked, genuinely unsure.

**"Did you take them?"**

**"They're gone? Ah, god, what happened?"**

**"I don't know, Max. We were drugged, I woke up, I was alone in my house but their stuff is all here. Someone took them."**

**"I had nothing to do with it, and there's only one other person who knew where they were staying."**

Max didn't have to say anymore- Booth quickly realized that Brennan's father was just confirming his suspicions that Pelant was behind it all.

**"Sweets and I are going to find them,"** Booth told Max.

**"I'm going to help."**  
** "Max- no offense, but you're a criminal- I'd have to arrest you if given the chance."**

**"You can't do this to me, Booth- my daughter and granddaughter are missing, and you want me to just standby? I can't do that, kiddo."**

**"Do what you want, Max, but if you come within 100 feet of me I'll put a bullet in your leg and put you in federal custody."**

**"Nice chat, kiddo."**

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Sweets asked, taking a sip from his cup of coffee, " I mean we have no idea where they are, or even what happened, really."

"So we find out. He called me, once, so I'll get Angela to trace the number, or trace something to give us a lead, and we'll go from there."

"You do realize that that was probably a highly encrypted message and that Angela probably won't be able to get anything from it, right?"

"Listen, kid, it's all I have right now, so I'm gonna put a little faith in the man upstairs and hope we get something from it, k?"

Nodding slowly, Sweets took another sip of his coffee.

"Let's go to the lab and talk to Angie."

Getting into Booth's SUV, Sweets turned on the radio as an attempt to distract Booth at least a bit.

**"Hello, Booth,"** sounded into the car, **"I bet you're wondering what happened to your little family, and I can imagine you know who's behind it."**

The voice paused.

Turning to Sweets Booth hurriedly whispered, "that's Pelant's voice- how the hell is it projecting from my radio?"

**"I am capable of more than you could ever imagine, Booth,"** the recording continued, **"but I'm a good guy- I'm willing to let you fight me for them. May the best man win."**

The two men head the click of a recorder and music began to flow normally from the radio.

"How the hell does he expect me to fight for them if I can't find them?" Booth asked, speeding towards the Jeffersonian.

"Maybe you can find them, though. I have a feeling that Angela is going to be able to trace a location from that phone call, and not because Pelant is sloppy."

"What's going, on in that shrinky-brain of yours, Sweets? Talk to me."

"He is incredibly narcissistic, and truly believes that he has to 'level the playing field', per say, by giving you his location- he wants to fight you because he's convinced he'll win."

"Yeah, well, god know that isn't true," Booth huffed, pulling into the lot and jumping out of the car, "Let's go, Sweets, I wanna get this to Angela- we don't know if there's a time limit on his little game."

* * *

"Okay so I isolated the different sounds heard throughout the phone call, and I was able to pull a steam ship, car horns, and some sort of metal clanking in the background?" Angela told Booth and Sweets as they all stood huddled around her computer.

"Play it?" Booth asked.

Angela nodded her head, pressing play on her keyboard.

Listening intently, Booth tried to remember where he had heard that sound before.

"The park," he said quickly, "in Maryland- Bones and I brought Char and Parker up there last weekend and they were doing construction on a nearby bridge- that's the sound. It's not really a park, it's just an empty field between the highway and a port."

"Okay, that's good, do you know exactly where it is?" Angie asked, gesturing to her maps of the VA-DC-MD area.

Picking up a pen, Booth drew a circle around an area near Annapolis, "It's right here- this is where they are."

Dropping the pen, Booth looked at his friends, already deciding what the next move would be.

"I'm going," he said, "alone."

"Hey, Booth, you know Pelant is incredibly-"

"No, Sweets, you said it yourself- he wants to fight _me_, so I'm going alone. I don't want to risk anything."

Angrily pouting, Sweets shook his head.

With concern washed across her face, Angela sighed as she handed Booth's phone back to him, "Please just don't be a hero, okay?"

Ignoring her request, Booth took his phone and ran out of her office, and up the stairs towards his car.

_That's exactly what I'm going to be,_ he thought.

* * *

**SINCE I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING WITH THIS NOW, I SHOULD UPDATE IT WITHIN A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME LIKE MAAAAAAAYBE OVER THE WEEKEND?**

**-T**


	11. Chapter 11

**This s super short but I just needed to get this scene over with, I know it's dumb and just awful I'm sorry**

**also I realize maybe 2 people are still reading this story lul so thanks**

**I would really appreciate review! reviews make me update faster!**

* * *

_Booth's POV_

"Bones? Park? Pumpkin?" Booth called cautiously as he entered the park off the highway, gun drawn.

"Glad you could join us, Booth," Pelant said with a smirk.

Spinning around, Booth saw him exiting a gazebo to his left, Bones and the kids nowhere in sight.

"Where are they?" Booth growled through gritted teeth, "What'd you do with them?"  
"Oh, they're fine, Agent Booth, don't worry."

As if to confirm, Bones' voice call from within the small stone building at the other end of the field.

Making sure his gun was fully loaded, Booth took another step towards Pelant. It was then he realized Pelant was holding some sort of grenade. Puzzled, he halted momentarily before refocusing his aim on the other man's face.

"Oh, this?" Pelant asked, "This is just a little something I've been working on: you shoot me and the kickback makes it blows, killing all of us- your little family, back there, too."

"Isn't that counter productive? If we're all dead, nobody wins," Booth asked trying to play mind games with Pelant, a little trick he learned from Sweets.

"Well, agent Booth, it is quite clear that she doesn't want to be with me, but she definitely wants you, and you want her; if we're all dead, I obviously win because you don't have each other," Pelant explained, shifting his weight from one foot to another, a little agitated by Booth's question.

"No, Christopher, I don't think you win, because you won't get the satisfaction of seeing our family destroyed if you're dead," Booth said, praying that he could at least distract Pelant enough to make a move for the grenade.

A little shaken by this thought, Pelant hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "my own demise is worth the destruction of you all-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Brennan sprung on him from behind, having escaped the lamely tied knots that had her bound in the cabin. Grabbing the grenade, she ran across the seemingly infinite field towards Booth.

Enraged, Pelant pulled his gun from his back pocket and aimed it towards Brennan.

"Bones- Run!" Booth yelled, pushing her out of the way as she reached him, lifting his gun to Pelant.

* * *

_Brennan's POV_

The roar of a gunshot rang in Brennan's ears, but she was unable to determine whether it had been one gun going off or two. Carefully placing the grenade in a pile of leaves at the base of a tree, she spun around to catch Booth diving to the ground and Pelant already down.

Running to Pelant first, she could see from a distance the blood pooling underneath him. As she got closer, a perfectly round hole over his heart became apparent. To be sure, as Brennan always was, she quickly checked his pulse and concluded that he was dead.

"Oh, god, Booth. Thank you so much. I can't-"

Turning around, she saw Booth still on the ground.

Running towards him, she could see a similar pool of blood forming beneath him, a red wound piercing his ribcage.

Crashing beside him, she prayed silently that he would be okay.

* * *

_Booth's POV_

"Stay with me, Booth!"

"C'mon, Booth!"

He heard Brennan ethereally calling out to him, but not matter how hard he tried, he couldn't respond.

He felt her lithe fingers, laced together, pressing with the force of her entire, slender body into his chest as she kneeled beside him.

Blood continued to seep from the would, filling the cracks between her fingers and overflowing onto the grass.

Brennan continued to press down on his chest, futilely trying to stop the flow of his blood.

One nickname softly fell from his mouth.

"Bones," he whispered.

"C'mon, Booth!" She pleaded again, her voice this time not as strong, as she watched the life slowly escape from his eyes.

She released the pressure from his chest and sat back on her heels, watching blankly as a paramedic loaded him onto a gurney and into an ambulance.

Willing herself to move, she slowly stood and staggered towards the cabin to go get the children from their safe hiding spot.

* * *

**review pleeeeeeaaaassseeee the only thing that makes this worthwhile is getting reviews!**

**-T**


	12. Chapter 12

**So this is coming to a close-ish i think; i don't think there's going to be much more drama, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MIGHT MAKE AN APPEARANCE!**

**also someone asked about the Brennan-Pelant backstory(since I didn't establish why she was hiding from him) so basically I didn't actually really think about that, but I'll say that it's very similar to what happened on the show-**

**Brennan works on cases involving him(but from NY) and then gets really close to tying him to a bunch of murders and Pelant, who at first was in love with her brains, is like aw hell no girl nobody catches Christopher Pelant so then he goes after her and she's like oh no Pelant is trying to kill me help**

* * *

Entering the hospital room, Brennan was met with a goofy smile.

"Hiya, Bones!" Booth said gleefully.

Motioning for her to come closer, he patted the empty space on his bed, "come sit!"

Silently, Brennan slowly approached the cot and situated herself next to him, careful not to get too close to any of his stiches.

Booth reached around her to try and pull her into a hug, but stopped short, grimacing.

"Sorry, Bones, the stiches are a little tight."

Instead, Brennan put her arm around Booth and swung her legs over the side of the bed so they were laying together, her head under his chin.

"I thought you were dead," she stated, her eyes becoming glassy, her fingers knotting around themselves.

"And leave you with TWO monsters to handle all by yourself? Temperance Brennan, I would never," he said a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

Her face softening, Brennan lifted her head to place a light kiss on the corner of Booth's jaw, "Thank you," she mumbled into his skin.

"For what?"  
"For not dying and leaving me with two monsters," she said, now smiling.

"Say, Bones, I'm starving- you think you could sneak a pizza in here?"

"Booth," she said, frowning, "You just had your chest cracked open and a bullet fished from your lung, the last thing you need is pizza! I could try to get you a fresh fruit smoothie, and perhaps some additional supplements because the vitamins you're getting now are certainly not sufficient-"

Booth stopped her rambling with a sweet kiss.

Resting her head under his chin again, Brennan sighed as Booth ran his fingers through her hair while he watched the last few tears on her cheeks dry.

"Bones," he said lightly.

She looked up at him.

"What are we doing? When I get home next week, are you just going to pretend this never happened? Because I-"

"Now is not the time for this discussion, Booth," she said sharply, interrupting him.

Just then they heard a light knock on the door.

"Come in," they yelled in unison, Brennan shifting ever so slightly away from Booth.

"Hey, you two! Look who I brought," Angela said, carrying Parker in one arm and Charlie in the other.

Being put down, the toddlers both hobbled towards Booth and Brennan.

"Daddy!" Parker called, motioning to be picked up.

"Da!" Charlie yelled, also reaching towards Booth, standing on her tip-toes.

Brennan and Booth looked at each other, Brennan blushing, but they didn't say anything as she scooped the kids up and placed them gently on the bed.

"We have to be very careful; Daddy has some very big boo-boos so you have to be gentle, okay?" Brennan said to the toddlers.

Nodding very seriously at her, they turned around to address Booth.

"Hey there, little monsters," Booth said, grinning and tickling them with his good arm.

Everyone in the room laughed when Charlie grabbed Booth's face and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on his cheek.

* * *

"Well, Agent Booth, I'd say you're ready to be discharged. Everything looks good to me," Booth's surgeon said, "The incision seems to be healing nicely."

"Yeah, so I can get out of here? I kind of have somewhere to be."

"I know it's Halloween, Agent, but I want you to rest. You had your chest cracked open just a couple weeks ago."

"I'll be fine, Doc, thanks," Booth said, waiving his arms to get the nurses attention so she could come unhook him from the hospital machinery.

"I'll just go get the discharge papers in order, then."

As the surgeon left the room, Brennan entered.

"Hiya, Bones. The doc said I'm all good to go!"

"Smiling, Brennan walked over to the table in the room to begin packing up Booth's stuff.

"I brought you something," she said, "but it's in the car."

"Don't keep me waiting- what is it?" He asked her excitedly.

Brennan just smiled and continued to put Booth's clothes into the suitcase.

After a moment, she asked him, "Have you walked much since you've been here? Does it hurt at all? Because I can get you a wheelchair-"

"Bones, I was shot in the chest; my legs are fine," he said, chuckling.

Brennan blushed, "just being thorough."

* * *

"You brought me an entire pizza?" Booth asked her enthusiastically as he opened the car door to see a familiar cardboard box in the front seat.

"I spoke to your doctor yesterday, and he told me you'd be discharged today so I came prepared," Brennan said, loading his bag and 'get well soon' balloons into the trunk.

Rather than thanking her verbally, Booth strolled around the car and grabbed her, kissing her quickly, before returning to the front seat to eat his lunch.

As she got in the driver's seat, Booth saw the familiar pink flushing climbing into her cheeks.

"Is now a good time to talk about it?" he asked her, half seriously and half smart-assedly.

"Well, Pelant is dead. I suppose that means Charlie and I are no longer in need of protection- and we all barely fit in your apartment," she said, hoping he'd disagree.

"Well, actually," he said, fidgeting with his seatbelt, "I was looking at larger houses, I mean since I have Parker now. A kid needs a swing set, you know?"

_And plus I love you, so... _Booth thought, _but now's not the time to tell you._

_"_Well I mean we don't need to finish this discussion yet. We can talk more later. But there is another discussion we do need to have," Booth said, "What are we?"

"I don't know what you mean," Brennan said, her eyes fixed in front of her.

"I mean we kiss and don't talk about it, and your child called me dad and we don't talk about it, so I just wanna know what we're doing here," Booth said, his stern countenance softening, "I just wanna know what we are."

"Well I honestly do not know 'what we are'- what do you want?"

"I want you, Bones," Booth said, "not just you, though; I want Charlie, and I want to wake up to you making pancakes for breakfast, and I want Park to have a mom, and I want Charlie to have a dad, and I believe in giving us a chance. I think we can be something really great."

Booth looked over at the conclusion of his speech to see Brennan's eyes once again becoming glossy.

"I'm a scientist, Booth, I don't do anything without sufficient evidence or reason. I can't change- I don't know how," She said, wiping the tears that had begun to tremble down her cheeks, "I don't know how."

"Bones," Booth said, "I don't want you to change- I want you for who you are- and I won't rush you into anything because I understand that this is new to you and that it's really hard," running his fingers through his hair, he added, "but I don't wanna lose you, Temperance, I can't lose you."

She pulled the car into the parking lot of Booth's apartment building and turned to face Booth.

"I'm going to an open house in a couple of hours for this great house a few blocks from here, would you come with me?" he asked her.

"I'd love to," she said, leaning over the console to give him a kiss on the cheek before getting out of the car.

* * *

"Wow!" Charlie said, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' as she gaped at the backyard of the house.

Gripping Booth's shirt with one hand, she twisted around in his arms to point at the massive swing set taking up the whole right side of the yard.

"Yeah, pumpkin, I love swing sets too," Booth said, ruffling her hair, "What'dya think, Parker? You like it?" Booth asked the toddler, who was perched on Brennan's shoulders.

"Swings!" Parker yelled.

Chuckling, Brennan smiled at Booth, "I'd take that as a yes."

"What do you think, Bones?" Booth asked her, hoping for her approval.

"Honestly, I love it Booth. The kitchen is beautiful, and all five bedrooms are incredibly spacious. Plus, I find I really enjoy the idea of a swing set, as well," she said, her left hand reaching for Booth's as her right hand held Parker steady, "this is a beautiful home."

Turning around, they saw the realtor walking towards them.

"What a beautiful family you are!" The woman said to them, "how old are your children?"

"Parker is four," Booth said, gesturing towards the little boy with Brennan, "and Charlotte is three."

Realizing that the woman was looking at her, Charlie buried his face into Booth's neck, hating to be the center of attention.

"They are just too cute. You know, this house would be great for you guys; it has plenty of bedrooms and such a wonderful yard. Plus, the schools in this area are just phenomenal."

"Yes," Brennan said, "we agree, this is a nearly perfect house."

"Well, I'll leave you four to talk about it, but here's my number," the realtor said, handing a business card to Brennan, "call me if you wanna talk."

"So, Bones," Booth said, again taking her free hand, "this house is too big for me and Park alone- so if you and Charlie are looking for a place to stay...like permanently..."

Booth looked down at his shoes, too nervous to look Brennan in the eyes.

"We'd love to, Booth, right Charlie? Do you wanna live here?"

"Swings!" Charlie yelled, giggling.

"Well, looks like the kid has decided," Booth said, leaning in to give Brennan a quick kiss, "welcome to the family, officially."

* * *

**awwww happy B&B yaaaay**

**REVIEW PLEASE IF YOU READ IT AND LIKE IT OR EVEN HATE IT JUST TELL ME BECAUSE I DONT WANNA WRITE IF NOBODY IS READING K THNX**

**-T**


	13. Chapter 13

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW ONCE YOU'VE FINISHED THIS CHAPTER- YOU CAN BE LIKE YO DIS IS RAD OR LIKE YO THIS SUCKS AND I'LL BE GRATEFUL EITHER WAY BECAUSE IT MEANS SOMEONE IS READING MY STORY KK PCE**

**PS IM THINKING JUST A FEW MORE CHAPTERS TO WRAP THIS STORY UP!**

* * *

"C'mon, Booth, it's getting late!" Brennan called from the kitchen, "I want to be home by 8 and it's almost 5!"

"Relax, Bones- the kids won't be able to handle more than a couple of hours of trick-or-treating; we have plenty of time."

Finishing the last sentence, Booth entered the kitchen, tugging at the wig he was wearing and feeling immense pressure under Brennan's scrutiny.

Brennan put down the child-sized suit jacket she was holding to get a good look at Booth. Starting at his feet, she saw he was wearing a pair of beaten-up sneakers. His pants were a pair of khakis, ripped at one of the knees and fraying at the bottom. She paused when she made it to his broad, shirtless chest. He had put a faint coat of pale paint across his upper body and face, and accentuated his scars with makeup. She couldn't help but chuckle when her eyes reached the messy black wig on his head.

"I'm a zombie," he said sheepishly, "I figured my scars would really add to the effect, you know?"

"I love it, Booth, you look great," she said.

"Where's your costume," Booth asked her, frowning.

"Oh, well I never celebrated Halloween as a child, and I figured it foolish to begin now-"

"If you're coming with us, you gotta wear a costume- let's see what I can find," Booth said, leaving the kitchen to rummage through the drawers in his room.

"Aha," he exclaimed, "wonder woman!"

"Why do you have a female Halloween costume in your bedroom?" she asked him.

"I think it was Rebecca's, actually, but it would look much better on you," he said, appearing in the kitchen with a skimpy costume on a hanger.

"I am NOT wearing that," Brennan protested.

"Oh c'mon, bones, it'll look _so_ good on you!"

Huffing, she grabbed the costume and stomped into the hall to put it on.

"Happy?" She asked, emerging from the bathroom, tugging at the incredibly small suit.

Booth's jaw literally fell open as he took in the beautiful scientist standing before him, "Elated," he said, smirking.

"Jacket," Charlie commanded of her mother, entering the kitchen.

Brennan helped Charlie into the final piece of her Halloween costume.

"There," Brennan said, "FBI agent."

"Wow, pumpkin, that's great- I especially like the badge you have there!" Booth said scooping the kid up to give her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Park? Where are you- I wanna show Bones your costume!"

Just then Parker came down the hall, wearing a blue lab coat and a little badge that said "Jeffersonian".

Booth helped him with his tie and tied his shoes.

"There we go- our little scientist is all ready!"

Reaching into his pocket, Booth took out his phone to take a quick picture of the two adorable kids, then motioned for Bones to get in one.

"Alrighty," he said, "let's go!"

* * *

"Well I'm absolutely exhausted," Booth said, dropping Parker's bag of candy on the couch.

"I am, too," Brennan said, placing Charlotte's next to it, "and they definitely are," she said, motioning to the sleeping kid in her arms, and the sleeping kid in Booth's arms.

"I'll go put Char in bed," Booth said, "put Parker in mine?"

Brennan nodded, carefully untying Parker's shoes as not to wake him.

Pulling off his jacket and badge, she decided to just leave him in the rest of his costume as it would be impossible to remove it without waking him.

Booth took off Charlotte's badge, jacket and shoes, and put her in her bed, deciding similarly to Brennan that he couldn't put her in PJs without waking her.

Meeting back in the kitchen, Booth immediately took off his sneakers, and Brennan her wristbands.

"I can't get this necklace off," she laughed, her fingers fumbling behind her head to try and unclasp it.

"Let me help," Booth offered, walking behind her to try and get it off.

After minutes of messing with the lock, Booth lost interest in the necklace and planted a kiss on Brennan's jaw from behind.

Turning around, she kissed him quickly on the lips, pulled his wig off, and kissed him again.

Pulling back, she said with a chuckle, "your paint is getting all over my hair and clothes."

"Well I was gonna go take a shower- wanna come help me get it off?" Booth said, grinning devilishly and praying she'd say yes.

Kissing him again, Brennan nodded, mirroring his expression, as she followed him into the bathroom.

* * *

**ooh ooh naughty naughty!**

**LIKE I SAID BEFORE REVIEWS ARE THE ONLY REASON I AM WRITING THIS STORY SO TELL ME IF YOU LIKE IT OR HATE IT OR IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR JUST WANNA HOLLA AT ME**

**ALSO I'LL BE POSTING A SECOND CHAPTER LATER TODAY SINCE THIS IS SUPAH SHORT **

**-T**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm thinking couple more chapters and possibly an epilogue to this story, y'all. It's been real!**

**don't forget to leave me a quick review when you're done reading!**

* * *

"Good morning, Bones," Booth said with a smile as he finished plating the last of the bacon he had cooked, "breakfast is all ready!"

"What are you doing up so early? The kids are still asleep," Brennan asked as she strolled into the kitchen.

"I wanted to cook breakfast for my beautiful scientist, is that a crime?" Booth said, "No, it's not; I would know. And looky here, Bones! The pancakes are shaped like actual bones!"

"This is wonderful, Booth, thank you," she said, smiling as she sat at the counter.

Walking around the island, Booth put her plate in front of her and carefully leaned over it to give her a kiss, "I love you," he said, his face still inches from hers.

Booth felt Brennan stiffen slightly at the words as she dropped her head.

"Hey, Bones," Booth said, lifting her chin with his index finger, "If you're not ready to say it, I get it- I just wanted to let you know."

"Booth," she said, lifting her gaze to meet his, "I love you, too, of course. This is all new to me, though, and I find I am made rather uncomfortable by the unknown."

Booth nodded, kissing the top of her head before returning to the stove.

"I do love you, Booth," she said, "though 'love' is just the chemical release of-"

"Woah, Bones, it's too early for science," Booth said, chuckling.

Brennan smiled as she picked up her fork and knife.

* * *

A knock on the door pulled Booth and Bones from their comfortable nap on the couch.

"I'll get it," Brennan said, her voice heavy with sleep as she carefully stood up and ambled over to the door.

Pulling it open, she was shocked to be pulled into an embrace. Using her self-defense skills she learned from a class a few years ago, she kneed the man in his sensitive area and spun him around, knocking him face-first into the ground.

As he rolled over, she was once again shocked to see that the man was Tim Sullivan.

"Well that's one way to be greeted," he said, standing up and brushing the dust off his pants.

"What are you doing here," she said flatly, her eyes stern and lips curved with a hint of a frown.

"I chose you," he said, "I docked my boat and came back for you."

Scrunching her nose, she tilted her head and stared at him momentarily before speaking,"I don't know what that means."

"What'dya mean, Temperance? I chose you and Charlie over my tour!"

"How did you find me?" She asked, eyes cold.

"I went to the lab, and they said you've been here, so I came by; why do you look so angry?"

Rather than answering, she took a step closer and slapped his face hard enough to cause him to take a few steps back.

Booth, watching the entire interaction from the couch, whispered, "ooooooh."

"What makes you think we want you? You already made your decision, and you signed the papers. You have no right to be here, so please leave."

As if Sully just realized Brennan was in asleep in Booth's clothes with him on his couch, he asked pointing to a grinning Booth, "wait, so you're with him?"

"I am," she said forcefully.

"Why?" Sully asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Why? I don't know, because he cares about us? Because he didn't leave us to tour his stupid boat on the oceans only to come back a few months later, 'oh, I've changed my mind!' Because I love him, Sully, that's why. Now if you'd just go," she said, gesturing towards the hall, "you have no business being here."

Taking a step back and out of the apartment, Sully began to speak, but Brennan slammed the door in his face, double locking it.

As she walked back to Booth, he could see a few tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"Hey, Bones," he said, sitting up straight, "what's wrong? That was totally badass!"

"I am worried I'm making a mistake denying Charlie the presence of her biological father," she sighed, sitting down next to Booth.

"She has me, Bones, I'm a million times better than Sully could ever be."

"I know that, Booth," she said, leaning into him, "but I'm concerned about how she'll react when she's older- not being able to know the man who contributed half of her DNA."

"Honestly, I think she'll be fine. She'll have a family that loves her and she doesn't need more than that," Booth said, standing up, "I think now's a good time to finish up that paperwork and sign on the dotted line? What'dya say, Bones?"

"Let's do it."

* * *

**What paperwork are we talking about here? YOU'LL SOON FIND OUT, MY FRIENDS!**

**Remember what I said about reviews? yea it still goes so if you like it or hate it or don't really care just let me know in a couple of words or a long essay because i like to know that people are actually reading this! it only takes 10 seconds to say ****'love it' or 'hate it' so please just let me know what you're thinking!**

**-T**


	15. Chapter 15

**THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER! FOR NOW AT LEAST**

**DONT FORGET TO REVIEW!**

* * *

"Sweets is going to be here any minute, Booth!" Brennan called from the living room, "are you certain you aren't in need of assistance?"

All she heard in response was a series of huffs, grunts, and the occasional crash.

Before she could decide whether or not to go help him, she heard the sound of metal being dragged across the hall.

"I got it!" he said, rounding the corner into the living room.

The second the bed frame hit the carpet, though, it toppled over, pinning Booth underneath it.

Gasping, Brennan ran over and squatted next to him,"are you alright? Where does it hurt?"

"I'm fine, Bones, but a kiss _would_ make me feel even better," he said, grinning.

Also smiling, Brennan leaned into Booth with the intentions of giving him a quick peck that wound up turning into something much more heated.

Undetected, Sweets opened the door to the apartment, ready to help his friends start loading some furniture onto a moving truck.

"Oh, gosh, sorry," he said, quickly turning around, "ew," he mumbled under his breath.

Undisturbed, Brennan gave Booth one last peck before standing up to get the frame off of him.

"Sweets," she called, "come help me lift this."

Mumbling to himself, Sweets strolled over to the pair to help free Booth.

"Glad to see you two getting along so s_wimmingly_," he said.

* * *

"I'll go wake them up," Booth said to Brennan, "we're all packed up, so I guess it's time to leave."

"I got it, Booth, you stay here and say goodbye to your old home and meet us outside," Brennan said, kissing him on the cheek before going to wake the kids from their nap.

Booth strolled from the kitchen to the now empty living room, but the only memories he could conjure up were memories he made with Brennan. He remembered that first night, how he had anxiously waited for her to come, and how shocked he was the first time he saw her. He remembered watching Barney with Charlie, and he remembered sitting with Brennan after he got the call about Rebecca. Everything worth remembering about his apartment had to do with his family, and lucky for Booth they were leaving with him.

After taking a moment to walk through the apartment, Booth walked through his front door one last time and took the stairs to the first floor where the people he cared about most were waiting for him.

"Ready?" Brennan asked.

"Let's go."

* * *

"And that's the last of it," Booth said, dropping the final cardboard box on the staircase.

Dusting off his hands, he took a moment to look around. He was standing in the main entrance of his new home, the living room to his right and dining room to his left. He, Brennan, Hodgins, Angela and Sweets had taken the last few of days to move all of the big furniture inside, and he and Brennan had almost finished with the decorating. Straightening one of Bones' bizarre paintings, he walked through the house and through the back door, where he found Charlie and Parker already playing on the swing set in the cold December air.

"I knew they'd love it," he said to Brennan, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

She turned around to give him a kiss, her face lingering near his.

"Remember when I said love was simply the result of chemicals being released in your brain?" she asked him, one hand in his back pocket and the other on his shoulder.

"Well, you tried to, but I said it was too early for science," Booth said, smiling.

"Yes, well, regardless of whether I finished my thought aloud or not, I was wrong. I can now see that love is more than chemicals; thank you, Booth."

"When you two walked into my life that day six months ago, I never imagined this is what we'd have, so thank _you_, Bones," Booth said, kissing her quickly.

"We should probably start cooking, our guests will be arriving in a few hours," Brennan said, pulling Booth towards to the house.

"Park, Charlie, it's time to go inside for now, but we'll come play more later," he yelled to the kids.

In the kitchen, Booth and Brennan agreed that it would be a good time-killer to have the kids help cook dinner. All of the ingredients spread on the counter, Booth scooped up Charlie and Parker and put them on the table so they could reach everything.

"No, silly, the flour goes in the _bowl_!" Booth said to Charlie, who had decided to spray flour on Booth rather than in the measuring cup.

Seeing Booth's smile, she look a handful and rubbed it on her nose and forehead, then reached over to spread some on Parker and Bones.

"Charlie!" Brennan shrieked, "you're making a mess!" But rather than being mad at the child, she began to laugh, snorting as Parker took a handful of the snow-like substance and flung it across the island at Booth.

Soon enough, the entire kitchen and family was covered in a blanket of the powder, everyone laughing and dodging handfuls.

"Well, once the cooking is done I guess we're all gonna need to shower," Booth said.

* * *

"Hey, sweetie!" Angela said as Brennan let her, Michael Vincent, and Hodgins into the house, "Thank you so much for inviting us over- I can't wait to see the incredible decorating job you've done!"

"Hello, Angela," Brennan said, giving her friend a hug, "We're glad you could come."

"Hey, man, something smells _really_ good in here!" Hodgins said, walking towards the kitchen.

"Well, we had a bit of a cooking mishap earlier, but I managed to pull something together," Brennan said, smiling.

"Hey, guys!" Booth said coming down the stairs, holding Char with Sweets and Parker trailing behind, "Sweets and I just finished getting the monsters cleaned up, so perfect timing!"

Seeing her friend, Charlotte wiggled to be put down and she, Michael Vincent and Parker disappeared together to the playroom.

We just bought Charlie and Park some new toys, so that should keep them busy long enough for us all to enjoy a nice glass of wine!" Brennan said, opening the bottle Angie and Hodgins had brought.

After everyone had a glass their hand, Brennan cleared her throat, "I'd like to make a toast," she said, "to friends, and to our new beautiful home, and to family. I am so grateful everyday that Booth is the man he is, because I'm not sure if Charlotte and I would still be alive if it weren't for him. So thank you Booth, and thank you friends for helping us when we needed you, and thank you Sweets for starting this all!"

"To Sweets!" Booth yelled, giving his best friend a playful punch to the shoulder.

Brennan noticed Booth making some sort of hand gesture to Hodgins as he disappeared into the house, but Brennan ignored it. Moments later, Hodgins returned with all three kids.

"And one last thing," Brennan said, "as of this morning, I officially have a full-time job as a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian!"

"Hey, congrats, friend!" Hodgins said, Angela nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, Dr.B, that's awesome!" Sweets said, a huge smile spread across his face.

"There's one more thing, actually," Booth said, looking directly at Brennan before running into the living room to get a small box. Handing it to Brennan, he encouraged her, "c'mon, Bones, open it."

Inside, she found a small infinity sign statue engraved with the words "Be My Forever".

"It's perfect for that empty space on the bookshelf!" She said, hardly noticing Booth.

"So, Bones," he said, dropping to one knee and pulling another box out of his pocket, "It has only been six months since we met, but with what we've been through, it seems like so much more- and I want another 30, 40, or 50 years with you. What'dya say, Temperance? Will you marry me?"

* * *

**THE END! yeah i know it was mean to leave it there but i'm sure y'all can imagine what happens next? I'm gonna write an epilogue because there's a lil more i wanna get done, it'll probably take place a few years after this so we can see how b&b settle in.**

**Not sure when it'll be done, but hopefully within the next couple of days!**

**until then, it's been real folks!**

**DONT FORGET TO REVIEW! TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS CHAPTER, OF THE FANFIC AS A WHOLE, IT CAN BE ONE WORD OR A PARAGRAPH IDC I JUST WANNA SEE WHAT YOU THINK! **

**-T**


	16. Epilogue

**This is it! It takes place some 7-8 years after the conclusion of the last chapter.**

**Thank you guys for sticking with me til the end, even with my sporadic posting and nonsensical story line! I LOVE YOU ALL AND WATCH OUT FOR A NEW CASTLE FANFIC I MIGHT POSSIBLY WRITE**

**FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM at !**

**ALSO REVIEW THIS WHEN YOU'RE DONE READING! TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE STORY AS A WHOLE, THIS EPILOGUE, WHATEVER JUST LMK!**

* * *

"Hey, Pumpkin, go get mom for a sec; I wanna show her something," Booth yelled from the living room to his daughter in the kitchen.

"Dad, I'm in 7th grade- you have to stop calling me pumpkin," Charlie said as she came around the corner, rolling her eyes.

"You'll always be pumpkin to me."

Rolling her eyes again, Charlie ran up stairs to go find her mother.

Booth looked down at the photo he held in his hand, tracing his wife's outline with his pinkie. She was in that awesome Wonder Woman costume Booth had found for her, and Charlie was no more than three, Parker about four.

The sound of Brennan coming down the stairs interrupted his nostalgia and he looked up to see Bones in front of him, carrying their sleeping daughter.

"Remember when they were this small?" Booth asked her, passing on the Halloween photo he had found shoved in a drawer, "Because I don't."

"I find that highly improbable, Booth, as that was approximately 7 years ago, and only dementia patients are unable to recall such recent events." Taking the photo, her countenance softened as she looked at the picture of the young family, "Oh look at Charlotte; she was such a cute FBI agent- it's hard to believe our little Christine will be three soon- I don't know where the time went."

"Well," Booth said, "I find that highly improbable, Bones, as you know just where the time went considering you lived through it."

Giving Booth a loving death stare, she passed the sleeping baby to him so she could take a better look at the photo.

"Oh, god, look at Parker! He was so little," she said, remembering that time in her life.

As if on queue, Parker came barreling down the stairs, "What, mom? I heard you say my name."

"Come look at this photo, honey, it's from our first Halloween together."

Taking the photo from Brennan, Parker snorted when he saw what he and Charlie were wearing, "Why would you dress us like this? We look so weird. How old even were we?"

"You were four and Char was three," Booth said, "And we thought it was adorable to dress you like mom and Charlie like me."

"I stand by that opinion," Brennan said, laughing.

"What are we gonna dress Christine as this year?" Parker asked as Charlotte came back down the stairs.

"Are we talking about Halloween?" She asked.

"Yeah, kiddo, got any ideas?"

"I say we all go together, and all be pieces of a puzzle- you and Park found me and mom, and together we all have Christine, so we're like a big puzzle that fits together to make a family," Charlie said, a boastful smile spread across her face.

"I love it, pumpkin," Booth said, sticking his tongue out at her, purposefully using the nickname to bug her.

"Family trip to the craft store to get started?"

"I call yellow for me and mom!" Charlie yelled.

"Dad and I can be blue," parker added.

"So I guess Christine will be green, then," Brennan concluded, strapping the baby into a stroller.

"But I think we should include Uncle Sweets," Charlie said, "because he brought us all together in the first place. He could be a rainbow piece!"

"I love it," Booth said, smiling at the beautiful family he and Bones created, "let's go."

* * *

**GOODBYE, ALL! IT HAS BEEN A WILD RIDE, AND I LOVE ALL OF YOU FOR READING! I'LL LOVE YA EVEN MORE FOR REVIEWING THIS! JUST CLICK THE LITTLE BUTTON IT TAKES YOU 5 SECONDS AND IT MAKES A WORLD OF A DIFFERENCE TO ME!**

**GOOD BYE, FRIENDS**

**FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER TOO RIZZLESNHODGELA I THINK BUT ALSO IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE HODGELANRIZZLES IDEK LUL BYE**

**one last time,**

**-T**


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